Much is made about how social media has changed newsrooms, and I’m one of those people who talks a lot about it.

But for all of that talk, there comes a point where you need to decide what action to take, if any.

Newsrooms today are bombarded with lists of best practice, how-to’s and draconian Do This Or You Will Perish blogs and articles.

Do you go with the herd, or do you hold your own and keep moving forward the best way you know how?

I’d really like to hear from some of our readers who are “on the ground” as a part of, or observing, their newsroom’s transformation and/or adoption of social media and online communities.

Not everyone is going to have an easy time of it, but there is certainly opportunity to learn from each other’s experiences.

If you have something to share,  please chime in with a comment below about the horror stories, or the tales of greatness at the news organization you work at.

Every Friday I post links to a few of the blog posts that I read during the week that I found interesting and insightful.

Included in this week’s round-up is discussion about researching how to reach new audiences; why Per Active Member is an important metric;  and best practice for socially-created content.

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Allowing a reporter to write for another publication or media outlet generally ranks pretty high on an editor’s list of Things Reporters Aren’t Allowed To Do.

While their reasoning is well-intended, I think it’s time to take another look at what those reasons are, and whether opportunities exist to capitalize on the new media landscape to benefit the news organization.

Here are three reasons why allowing reporters to write for other blogs may end up being beneficial:

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Every Friday I post links to a few of the blog posts that I read during the week that I found interesting and insightful.

Included in this week’s round-up is discussion about the shift to the concept of social business; 12 thoughts about the future of social media; the pros and cons of having a strategy for forums; and remaining optimistic about ROI.

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For news organizations that have taken the plunge into Facebook and have made Facebook a part of their daily communications, there is something else that they should consider.

Like businesses, news organizations can use Facebook advertising as a way to attract new readers and listeners.

If the news organization posts stories and photos to its page, there’s a significant opportunity to get traction out of those posts, in the form of Facebook advertising. Facebook enables advertisers to create ads out of photos and text that they’ve posted to their wall.

Every story is going to have a different target demographic likely to be interested in it.

By having the organizational flexibility to run ads based on varying demographic targeting, news organizations have an opportunity to get exposure with different audiences every day.

Many news organizations are fighting for the budget they can get, often with little or nothing left over. So finding money for advertising will be challenging. But for those who are able to do some experimenting, it could yield positive outcomes.