By Nathalie Mairena

The first annual Social Media Student Journalism Forum was held Friday, April 10, 2015. Hosted at the School Board Administration Building downtown and by the School Board of Miami-Dade County, the forum advertised as a way for student journalists to use and interact virtually using social media.

The forum began with introductions from Daisy Gonzalez-Diego, Chief Communications Officer at the Office of public relations, followed by welcoming remarks by Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, who announced his satisfaction of having over 100 student journalists attend the workshop.

At the panel discussion were journalists Kevin Ozebeck of WSVN and Channel Seven and Lauren Pastrana of CBS Miami. Raquel Regalado, a School Board member of District 6, and John-Philip Iafelice, Assistant School Board Attorney, was also there, giving advice on what to do and not to do on Social Media. Students attending could post their thoughts on Twitter using the given hashtag, #MDCPSconnects.

Both Ozebeck and Pastrana are active on Twitter, as is Regalado, who also uses her Instagram and Twitter in her workplace. Iafelice offered legal advice, such as what to do with unwanted photos and how to deal with threats on social media.

Ozebeck and Pastrana spoke of the importance of integrity of as a journalist, even with using Social Media, where everything goes up quickly. They both spoke if the importance of verification and sources, especially when using the second fast medium of Twitter and Instagram.

“It has to be right. It has to be accurate,” said Ozebeck. “ You have to tweet interesting content… you have to tweet something useful to your followers.”

All on the panel discussion agreed to the importance of using Social Media as a means to create a brand. They agreed on the importance of putting out material the reflects neutrality and professionalism as a journalist and that markets the field a young journalist might be interested in following.

Focus was also given on the dangers of social media. Videos were presented under the “Think Before you Click” campaign, pushing for students to use common sense with social media as they would in real life. Detective Steven Hadley, of the Miami-Dade County Schools Police, also spoke, giving cautionary tales over the misuse of social media.

“You determine what you put out there,” said Detective Hadley, warning against posting incriminating photos or threatening messages.

Following a Q&A, where panelists answered any questions such as how to use trends to a publications advantage or how to reach out to a school’s  students, Gonzalez wrapped up the forum with a thank you to all the schools attending, promising a new forum next year around.