By Heather Wolford
As I write this, four individuals have overdosed in Allegany County, Md., within the hour. I know this because someone messaged me on Facebook.
Don’t trust Facebook? Well, in a county of about 70,000 residents, with just over a third living in the county seat of Cumberland, news travels fast. And it travels on social media. To cover something as taboo as opioid addiction in small-town America, you must leverage social media.
While it is necessary to confirm with local officials all information you get from social media before releasing a story, these online connections can be a powerful lifeline when it comes to covering the opioid epidemic in smaller U.S. communities.
By establishing a strong following on Facebook through relentlessly covering the issue on my profile, I have branded myself as the “go to” local reporter for coverage of heroin and opioid-related topics. When the public thinks of the heroin crisis, they think of me and feel comfortable enough to reach out and share information.
Addiction is a highly sensitive and secretive topic. A small town mentality often exacerbates this silence. People want to talk about the epidemic, but they’re scared. You need to create a space that’s safe so that the public will share their story with you. This often comes with simply posting stories about opioid abuse.
Once you create this platform, individuals on the ground floor of the crisis, those suffering from addiction as well as their families, will act as your eyes and ears of the local opioid epidemic. Facebook becomes a pipeline for community members to contact you about opioid-related issues.
Good stories come from the trenches of addiction, so you must be available to your community, and they must trust you. Below are some tips on how to manage your social identity (mostly through Facebook), and other ways to become a “go to” resource for your area:
- It’s okay to have a personal Facebook page double as your professional page. I was a journalism student when I established my Facebook profile, so I have never posted anything that I otherwise wouldn’t want public. To me, nothing on the Internet is private anyway, so I curate my Facebook page with this philosophy in mind. By exposing a small portion of your personality, people begin to identify with you, and this will build trust. I’m willing to share some personal snapshots of my life, such as pictures of my dog, what I had for lunch, landscapes, vacation photos and inspirational quotes. I keep politics out of it (unless I’m covering local government) and I don’t pick sides. Go to settings and make sure all your posts are set to public.
- Friend everyone. If you see someone with 20, 30, or 100 mutual friends, add them. Again, this isn’t a Facebook profile intended to exemplify your core personality and divulge your deepest darkest secrets. You want to be friends with individuals from all walks of life. By creating this diversity, a conversation will emerge by default. I have almost hit the Facebook friend maximum (which tops off at 5,000), and I’ve never had to block anyone. Some individuals have asked me to block certain users, such as a man who often declares the sadly popular phrase “Let them Die,” but I haven’t blocked him. I’ve explained to individuals via private message that this is his opinion and many others around the nation hold the same opinion. This is why an open conversation on a public forum is needed, and why it’s important. Go to your settings and make sure you have the follow option activated. Some folks may just want to “follow” you, instead of “friending.” This will also be needed when you hit 5,000 friends.
- Keep opioids on the forefront of the profile. Share opioid stories regularly. This includes local, state and national. I stay away from sharing local media competitors, obviously, but with all the coverage on opioids throughout the nation, it is easy to maintain stories from a variety of other news outlets without a conflict of interest. Make sure to share local statistics on the crisis as much as possible, such as overdose rates. Don’t forget to share community-related events and resources such as grief or support groups, as well as your published stories on the crisis.
- Be sensitive. I can’t stress this enough. Sensitivity is key to acquiring trust. Addicts, their families and the surrounding community are in turmoil. City and county government officials, law enforcement, healthcare providers and emergency personnel are all mentally, physically and financially depleted. So use the same sensitivity with your community as you would with your own family. They are tired and in pain. Remember that. However, don’t confuse sensitivity with letting officials get away with anything. If local officials need to be held accountable, don’t hesitate. But work to humanize the addiction issue. For example, report stories on how frustrating it is for local law enforcement to be constantly responding to overdoses and how the crisis impacts community resources. Then follow up with an article featuring a local paramedic or official who struggles with addiction. This humanizes both sides.
- Just ask. If you have a story idea, just ask with a Facebook status post. Remember, be sensitive. If the topic is considered extremely emotional, such as information on fatal overdoses, ask if anyone is willing to share the information via private message. Make sure you monitor such posts carefully, in case anyone decides to post sensitive information publicly so you can delete it as necessary. This may sound risky, but if the community has your trust, they will know you have good intentions and recognize you as more of an advocate than a shock journalist. For less controversial questions, such best recovery programs in the area, just ask in a regular post.
- Go to related community events and share coverage on social media, such as opioid town halls, Narcan trainings, awareness walks or candlelight vigils. Get out into the community so that people will start to recognize you. This also helps you begin piecing together the dynamics within the town. You’ll find addiction touches all classes, races and genders. You’ll see some individuals suffering from substance abuse issues do not have family addicted while others have a long history of generational drug abuse. Be sure to treat them all the same.
Heather Wolford is a journalist based in Cumberland, Maryland. A graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder with a degree in Broadcast News, she writes for the Cumberland Times-News, a daily publication covering Western Maryland. Hired as the county reporter, Wolford took on the heroin epidemic facing the area about a year ago. Follow her at www.facebook.com/heather.wolford.961
