The five Instagram influencers I chose are all reporters in Omaha, NE or on the national level.
On all accounts, it’s a mix of personal and business. Many of them including Okmin, Ponder and Mellon post some personal content with their significant other and/or children. Overall, the majority of the posts are work related. There are many photos showing the reporters covering events such as NFL training camp and the Super Bowl down to local news coverage from Cornell and Wilcox at KETV.
The reporters use Instagram to enhance their storytelling and overall image. The personal accounts offer a platform for the reporters to reveal “behind the scenes” photos and videos. Instagram serves as a place to show one’s off-camera identity. Instead of just being a figure on one’s screen, the audience can “get to know” reporters on a deeper level. This will enhance the trust viewers have with a local or national reporter, as they realize they’re just like them.
I didn’t see any content I would think to be inappropriate. At this point of the reporters’ careers, they know to keep it professional at all times. Even if they’re on their “personal” account, everything is public. The only thing the reporters may juggle with is oversharing personal information of family and friends. From a privacy and security standpoint, that could be an issue. Otherwise, all the reporters provide content the viewers want to see. For example, the sports reporters like Ponder, Mellon and Okmin do a great job of showing the behind the scenes of players and coaches they interview and tell unheard stories.
Instagram users do engage with the reporters’ accounts. Many of the comments are praising the reporters, filled with “Congratulations” or “This is amazing!”. Okmin and Ponder have the most engagement due to their high following. The less-national reporters like Wilcox, Cornell and Mellon still have a solid following for how local the reporters are. The local ones still have a good amount of engagement with users.
Ana's Media Storytelling 