As the newspaper in the United States with the largest daily print circulation at 3.3 million, I wanted to take a look at USA Today and its social media use. So I interviewed Glenna De Roy earlier today who is a social media analyst for the newspaper.
DeRoy said USA Today views social media as an important part of the paper’s future. “We’re putting a lot of emphasis on strategy,” she said. “Working with journalists to integrate social media into their reporting and analyzing how well we’re doing. The goal is to branch out and try new things,” she said, citing new partnerships with Foursquare and Gowalla, location based social networking platforms where users can check in at various venues and receive points, badges, or in the case of the latter the possibility of items from the venues where the user has checked in.
“This was an opportunity to repurpose some of our columns,” she said citing the popular “Ten Recommended Destinations” column.
DeRoy said USA Today is also successfully utilizing the relatively more traditional social media platforms of Facebook, Twitter, and blogs. On Facebook, the newspaper has nearly 50,000 fans and specialized pages for travel and sports in addition to the main Facebook page.
She called Twitter use heavy, with more than 100 reporters on Twitter and 39 branded Twitter accounts. “The reporters seem to be getting a lot out of it,” she said. “Getting content in front of readers and asking questions of Twitter followers which is then incorporated into blog posts.”
In terms of blogs, USA Today has 24 on a variety of topics including On Deadline, a breaking news blog that is connected to Twitter, and Lifeline Live, a popular entertainment blog.
The newspaper has also set up a Social Media Lounge, a place to connect with others managing social media for the purpose of sharing.
“Regardless of the platform, the main concept that people will be reading the news and sharing with their friends will be around forever,” she said. “If you want to remain relevant, you need to be where these people are.”
I would call these efforts innovative, without a doubt! What do you think?
Newspapers & Social Media 
Very interesting post Gillian. Great initiative to interview Glenna de Roy!
Thanks! I had read somewhere that USA Today’s parent company Gannett was taking social media very seriously, so I figured they might be trendsetters in this regard. They now have several people on staff just devoted to social media, including a social media editor, an analyst (Deroy), and social media manager, who they solicited through social media.