By Natalia Karbasova

Moritz Sauer, journalist and DW Akademie trainer

Today, journalists have an array of digital tools such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTuve or blogs at their disposal. Any of these tools can help you increase your visibility on the web and promote your content. What should you start with, what are the absolute must-haves and which basic rules should you follow when enhancing your digital presence? In this interview, Moritz Sauer, a DW Akademie trainer, answers these questions and many more.

At this year’s Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum, we met up with Danh-Quy Nguyen, a Vietnamese who studied in Germany and now works as the Deputy Managing Editor for ELLE Vietnam. A few years ago, Danh-Quy was one of the first to receive a scholarship for the two-year Master’s program “International Media Studies” at DW Akademie.

Danh-Quy Nguyen at DW GMF

You graduated from DW’s International Media Studies program last year. Now, you’ve been invited back as a guest and expert for a panel-discussion at the DW Global Media Forum. How does that make you feel?

Firstly, I feel great and honored to be invited by my teachers and colleagues. I think it’s an experience that not everyone can have. So I feel very happy. Secondly, I’m also very happy to see my old friends and many colleagues from Deutsche Welle.

What do you miss most about Germany?
What I miss most from Germany is lots of trees, lots of green and the Rhine River.

Can you apply the knowledge that you learned at DW to your work in Vietnam?
Of course! I learned a lot at DW and I use it in my work every day. The most important thing I learned from the DW Master’s program is how to communicate with people from different countries and different cultures. This is very important for my daily job. As Managing Editor, I have to communicate with different editors and people from the fashion industry all around the world.

Image courtesy of knowledges33kerash/Flickr

In the face of current developments, journalists should embrace an attitude which isn’t dictated by whether they like something or not. The question is more one of relevance and the extent to which the Internet’s abundant possibilities can make journalism better. The parameters of journalism have been greatly redefined. That means journalists need to rethink the way they think. Here are seven ways to get into the mindset of a modern-day journalist.

1) Create your own, personalized news agency

Conventional channels aren’t the only way to find relevant voices. Breaking news is no longer the exclusive domain of traditional newswires and brand-name media organizations. Twitter, Facebook and blogs can be interesting alternative sources. They’re as respectable – or not – as any other source. In other words, the information has to be verified. So it’s a good idea to set up a reliable social circle. During the coverage of the Arab Spring in North Africa, NPR journalist Andy Carvin demonstrated how efficiently that can be done. Social networking sites are teeming with experts on all kinds of topics.

Image courtesy of birgerking at Flickr, CC license.

For many, Facebook has changed the face of the media landscape for good. Along with other social networking sites, it’s an important way for news consumers to filter updates from their favorite sources or on events of particular interest to them. It’s also how they share stories amongst their circles of friends.

In turn Facebook and other social media platforms have become key distribution channels for news websites. So it’s all the more important for online news sources to effectively market their content to social media outlets.

German blogger Claus Hesseling has compiled some useful tips for journalists who want to make the most of that potentially added exposure. With his kind permission, you can read a translation of his summary below.

By Raksmey Meas

Raksmey Meas, assistant lecturer at the Department of Media and Communication at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, reports that Japan’s catastrophe involving the recent earthquake and subsequent tsunami has yet again taken center stage in the world media’s attention.

Particularly in Cambodia, news related to Japan and its disaster racked up on front pages for more than a week following the initial shock on March 11^th.

Regarding the focus of Cambodian media on this tragedy, news angles seem to be anything on the updates of the situation – death toll, possible nuclear explosion and rescue efforts, etc.