Introducing.. Sophie Lui
Background
- News Anchor at Global BC in Vancouver
- Journalist for more than 20 years
- Graduated from BCIT in 1995
Advice:
- Hustle to get various jobs
- Cold calling people instead of emailing
- Following up with prospective employers to people of interest for meeting
- Place yourself in situation to shake important people’s hands and introduce yourself
Social Media is advantageous as it:
- allows you to continuously learn
- stay relevant with public audience
- have a wider intellectual world
Image of Sophie Lui obtained from Global News
Based on the general theme and interview between Miller and Lui (2022):
- How do notable individuals use social media?
- Promoting/ advertising
- Sharing news
- Promote discussion
- Activism
- What are the benefits of being in the public eye and having a PLN?
- Learning from others
- Developing connections
- Building a community with online tools provided by the employer can be limiting; what are the perceived restrictions and benefits?
| Restrictions | Benefits |
|---|---|
| Lack of autonomy: connection to employer- must meet the standards of the workplace. Can’t branch out. | Instant connection– employers tend to already have a large PLN. You can build a community based on their connections |
- Delivering information in a connected society requires verifiable resources; how to build a PLN to rely on?
- Connections- build a large PLN including those that you can rely on for reliable information
- How do those, who are veteran storytellers, minimize the risk of sharing misinformation?
- Check the website name: does it seem scholarly or is it a satirical website (Hirst, 2018)
- Don’t rush- fake news is spread often times because people were rushing and didn’t bother cross checking (Hirst, 2018)
Identify the risks and benefits of engaging with a public audience in a media space – what are the risks for a public figure or person in a position of trust (educator, lawyer, government official)?
| Risk | Benefits |
|---|---|
| Fake news– news spreads quickly and is uncontrollableRole model- public audience members look up to these public figures; use platform responsibly Large platform- if a public figure shares inaccurate information it’ll be seen by many | Get instant feedback– online users can comment and provide critique in real-time Learning- learn from others who are likeminded or not. Large platform- reach many people Advertise- use it to promote oneself  |
How to best address negative replies and critiques reflective of your personal values and employer’s social media policy?
- Sophie Lui (Miller & Lui, 2022) mentions a couple of tips:
- Take a deep breath and reflect– don’t impulsively respond to hate comments without considering the risk and benefit
- Acceptance– as a social media user who is active online you will get hate online or people with opposing opinions. Don’t let it affect you.
- Block or ignore– make a conscious choice whether they need to be blocked or can be brushed away. Try not to block many users so they don’t get the satisfaction.
- Reflection– sometimes you may get a comment that makes you reconsider how you’re approaching social media use. If it’s constructive then take the opportunity to learn and grow.
References
Hirst, M. (2018). The political economy of fake news. In Navigating social journalism: A handbook for media literacy and citizen journalism (pp. 78-100). Routledge. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/10.1057/9780230119796
Miller, J., & Lui, S. (2022). In the public eye. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfcXgKLzOVM&ab_channel=MILLER