media update's Adam Wakefield spoke to Dipa about her career and the challenges of her position.

What are your duties at The Star?

My duties includes maintaining The Star's social media pages which includes Twitter, Facebook and Instagram with my co-content producer, Mpiletso Motumi. This involves punting stories in the paper online, as well as adding a digital element to them when necessary, such as video. We also oversee reporters from the field who are tweeting, and, at times, take their tweets and write a story for online in cases of breaking news.

Overall, I have to watch all digital platforms for news and find strategies to grow The Star's followers on their social media platforms. For the paper itself, Mpiletso and I write and source entertainment, fashion and lifestyle stories for page three. We try and include a profile on a local star for every edition and get as much local copy onto the page as possible, and not rely on the international wires.

How did you first get involved in journalism, and how did you end up being employed at The Star?

I knew from a young age that journalism was the career for me. I loved to read and write, and wanted to find a way to create a platform to tell people's stories. After I matriculated, I did my BA in Journalism and BA Journalism Honours at UJ and interned at several media organisations, including Mail & Guardian and BBC Africa.

I then got my first permanent job at SAPA and, after about a year or so, I got the job at The Star. I started as a general news morning reporter and the stand-in social media editor before being appointed to my current position.

At the time, I was very invested in social media and would use it to find stories that would often make it onto our front pages. I was then asked to be the stand in social media editor, and was officially given my position in December last year.

What do you enjoy the most about your role, and what is the most challenging aspect of your job?

I enjoy growing our social media platforms and reflecting the stories in the paper digitally to an entirely new and mostly younger audience. I also enjoy adding a multimedia element to a print story.

The most challenging part of the job is keeping up with breaking news and ensuring that it is factual before we put it online.

In the era of fake news, which has been driven by the influence of social media, how best can established media combat it?

I think the best way is to verify news with official spokespeople or the authorities before putting anything online. This means prioritising the facts before breaking news. Also, we should look at where a news tip-off and sources come from, or what agenda a particular source has.

How best do you think social media is used by established media for the benefit of the audience, and the news organisation itself?

I think its best used as a supplement to the newspaper itself, which means adding to stories online where maybe there was no space in the paper and providing a complete multimedia package – video and a picture gallery, for example.

We also subscribe to the 'online first, print best' mantra. This mean providing breaking news online with a general overview on social media platforms, and following that up by providing analysis on that particular story in the newspaper.

Lastly, since you’ve started your role, which three lessons would you say are the most important you’ve learned?

 The first lesson is to first verify information before putting it online.

The second is to keep abreast of, and be committed to, seeing what is happening on social media so that our own platforms don’t fall behind.

Third is to always try and be original and create a social media strategy which sets you apart from your competitors.

For more information, connect with Dipa on Twitter.

Want to become a leader in social media? Read our story, Becoming a social media team leader – Xand Venturas’ journey.