As we look back on 2024 and make plans for the coming year, we want to ensure we’re meeting you on the social media platforms you use most.
As users and other news outlets flee X following updates to its terms of service that caused widespread user concern, Bluesky saw an influx of millions of users. We are excited to announce that readers can now find us on Bluesky.
We are also now on Reddit, a platform hungry for discussion about local topics. We have been able to chime in with our hyper-specific knowledge about the food, music, arts and culture scenes while providing space for users to discuss the hard news about our city’s happenings.
Our number one goal is to connect with you while telling the stories that make up the vibrant city of Phoenix. That’s why last year, we launched our TikTok account, bringing you video content that ranges from court filings to holiday party guides and more.
We’ve revamped our strategy to keep up with video-first algorithms on Instagram and are constantly evolving our content strategies on Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Threads to cut through the clutter and connect with you.
A digital transformation
From the day it was founded in 1970, Phoenix New Times has been free to our readers. We remain dedicated to providing our local journalism at no charge. In the late 1990s, we were among the first alt-weeklies to commit to digital journalism, restructuring our workflow to publish stories web-first.Our friends at the Dallas Observer (one of our sister publications under Voice Media Group) recently reported that since 2020, as the U.S. has seen a rise in the number of people who often use social media for news consumption, news sites have seen a drop in frequent consumption. Unsurprisingly, the study referenced supports the fact that print has been on a steady decline.
We’re committed to ensuring that our news reaches you throughout these shifts. Want to watch a Reel instead of reading an article? We’ve got you. Want to listen to your news instead? Our articles now offer an audio version (check out the spot right above where this article begins).
All in all, we’ll keep meeting you where you are.
Phoenix New Time hires a Social Media Editor
The eight platforms we’re currently using, and every piece of content that graces those sites, are all managed and created by one person: me.In 2023, under our new Editorial Director Chelsey Dequaine-Jerabek, Phoenix New Times and our respective sister papers all hired Social Media Editors to tackle the colossal feat of adapting our work to engaging and easily consumable videos, graphics and posts that you might find worthwhile.
I graduated from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism the previous year with a minor in film and a love of multimedia journalism.
I embarked on a journalism fellowship that same year through the Bakala Foundation in Prague to meet with young journalists from all parts of the globe and foster dialogue on current trends and best practices in modern journalism.
I’ve found that digital landscapes have more echo chambers than ever before. It’s easy to get lost in them, both as a consumer and creator. It’s become a passion of mine to enter these ever-so-isolated digital worlds and make sure our content traverses them to answer our readers’ questions and keep our news accessible.
The future of journalism and social media
The summer of 2023 brought on a lot of change within social media. Meta launched Threads and a TikTok ban appeared imminent, all while new algorithms and bot-driven posts changed the way we navigate these platforms.We’re adjusting to these changes at the same time as you, committed to changing how we reach you if it means we reach you at all.
In 2023, Facebook, now known as Meta, began deprioritizing news, even burying news-related posts and affecting publications around the nation.
So a question surfaced: Which social media platforms are worth publishing our news on?
We hope that you incorporate us into your social media diet and engage with our content. After all, it’s meant to serve you, whether offering a laugh through a kitschy TikTok trend or helping you understand local elections by responding to your comments.
Have feedback for us about our social media presence or ideas about what content you’d like to see from us? My inbox (and DMs) are always open. Email me at [email protected].
