mark frankel
Every week we ask a leading figure in digital news about their work, career and what it takes to be a journalist in the 21st century.

This week, Mark Frankel, assistant editor, UGC & social news at the BBC, explains why every journalist should be able to work with data, and why the smartphone is an important asset for reporters.


What is your job title and what does that mean?


I manage the BBC's UGC (user-generated content) Hub and social news team. The UGC Hub was created 10 years ago as a unit dedicated to sourcing and verifying eyewitness media contributions and to looking for innovative ways to involve our audience in BBC News stories. 

From tsunamis and earthquakes to citizen uprisings, tragic accidents and bombings, we have become increasingly reliant on eyewitnesses to tell us what they know and to then try and distinguish fact from fiction and inform our audience with context and objectivity. 

The social news team look after our core social media accounts in BBC News – including @BBCBreaking and the BBC News Facebook page (with the largest number of fans of any news page on Facebook).    

Over the course of the last year, the team has won awards for the accuracy, timeliness and engaging nature of the content posted to these accounts. 

Both UGC and social media are central to our news broadcasting and audience engagement strategy at the BBC and I feel privileged to be in a position to help shape and refine best practice with a bunch of hard-working and talented colleagues.

How did you get started in journalism?

I was working as an English language teacher in Japan and dabbling in some writing too.

When I returned to London to study for an MSc, I decided that I was more interested in journalism than teaching and, when I finished my Masters degree, used my experience in Japan to get a position working in the London office of the Yomiuri Shimbun and then Jiji Press. 

A good friend of mine was working at the BBC at the time and tipped me off about a job. I've been there every since. It will be 16 years in October.

What do you most look forward to at the start of your day?


A story that I know we can use to draw on the experience and interests of our audience and where I can visualise an idea that could prove shareable and engaging. The tough part is the delivery!

What does a normal day look like for you? In emoji.


emoji mark frankel

What three tools or apps do you use the most for work and why?

I'm going to be cheeky and pick 5:
  • Tweetdeck (including a column for alerts from dataminr) – I've never found a better way to keep across everything I need to simultaneously on Twitter.
  • Chartbeat – Indispensable for understanding how our audience is coming to our news website via social media and where they are spending most of their time.
  • Internal Facebook dashboard built by my talented audience engagement colleagues – It helps us determine what stories people are sharing most on Facebook from hour to hour.
  • Spredfast – Really useful for instant analytics on trending topics and themes across social media.
  • Crowdtangle – An excellent way to see how your social media output is faring in terms of both its own average engagement and that of competitors.
What would you focus on if you were training as a journalist now?

The smartphone. Now that you can broadcast, record and edit so easily on a smartphone, it's undoubtedly the biggest single factor in the digital news revolution we're all going through.

And [it's] crucial to understand how to make the most of it in our journalism – especially with new video formats.

I'd also emphasise the importance of understanding data journalism, both how to make the most of data in storytelling and how to track and measure the impact of your journalism.

What skills do you think are important to your role?

Apart from the above, an ability to spot a shareable story and to turn a dry, but important one into something that will engage an audience across social media. 

An ability to get the most out of new digital formats and a willingness to experiment with different ways of reaching new audiences through social and digital media and – not a skill but an important attribute – an approachable, ever-enthusiastic, self-starting manner.

What has your current job taught you about the industry?

I've learnt that effective news broadcasting involves more than TV, radio and a website. And, if you are serious about reaching a more diverse and under-served audience (especially women and young people) social media is a big part of the answer.

What would you say to someone applying to work at your organisation?

It's not the easiest time to be looking for work at the BBC. There may be few jobs to apply for, but I would think hard about what you're most interested in and specialist skills you could offer.

Then seek out someone in the BBC who works in that area for an initial chat. Be patient too. It may make more sense to build up your experience elsewhere initially.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

Early on in my BBC career I remember editing a radio programme that proved to be a complete disaster.

Interviewees let us down, there were technical issues and the presenter was pretty grumpy by the end.

I remember my boss at the time taking me aside and telling me not to worry too much. 

"The important thing", I was told, "is that you need to be prepared to fail in order to succeed. Next time you'll have a plan B." They were right.

Join us next week for a new look into the media industry – in the meantime, check out our other weekly interviews with digital media experts.

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