Alexis Oatman is a General Assignment Reporter for Cleveland.com and the Plain Dealer. In her role, Oatman covers breaking news events throughout northeast Ohio, where she is currently stationed. In addition to daily breaking news reporting, Oatman is also a freelance journalist who has been featured in several major publications such as PopSugar, Paper Magazine, and Essence, just to name a few. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
YORDANOS TESFAZION: How do you find that balance between posting journalistic content on your social media and branding yourself on your platforms?
ALEXIS OATMAN: Well, it’s a different journalism world right now. Before, maybe 15–20 years ago, social media wasn’t what it is now. You really didn’t need social media to be a journalist or even have to brand yourself. Now, as social media has grown to what it is and how profitable it can be, especially if you’re a freelance writer or journalist, it makes more sense to be on social media and merge the two. For me, I balance it by trying to be as authentic as possible. When it comes to journalism, just try to make sure that you’re being as honest as possible and covering the story the best you know how. So, when it comes to branding yourself, you’re just being yourself, it’s just about authenticity.
TESFAZION: How do you filter out criticism and trolls on social media?
OATMAN: It’s definitely an experience being online. When you’re a person of color — a Black woman specifically — online, it opens you up to a lot of harassment. There’s statistics that have shown and proven this, that if you have some type of divisive opinion, you’re going to be opened up to all types of critique and criticism — which is fine — but sometimes it turns into harassment and doxing. I’ve had people tagging my job on social media trying to get me fired or blowing up my email inbox. It’s not easy, but you just try to have discernment while moving smart online. If you need to go private, do that. I no longer have my employer tagged in my bio because whenever I would make a spicy tweet or something, people would tag my job, which is completely inappropriate.
TESFAZION: What are some of the most frustrating things about having to use social media for your job?
OATMAN: Probably the trolls. As a general assignment reporter, I don’t have a specific beat. I can write about the weather, I can write a story about an old lady turning 100 — you know what I mean? It’s a huge range. With that being said, you never know what can offend somebody. I’ve written things where I never thought anybody would have any problem with it, but then I get like three, four, five emails saying “hey, I don’t like this and here’s why.” Everything else, the connections, the jokes and all that other stuff, that’s the fun part.
TESFAZION: How do you build a following on social media?
OATMAN: Let’s see. I got verified last June at around 2,500 followers and now I’m at 7,000. So there has been some substantial amount of growth. Twitter is a space where if you have some appealing opinions, you post those, and regardless of whether people agree with you or not, you get them talking. When it comes to building a following on social media, you just have to be on there. Post on a regular basis — don’t go weeks without posting. You can’t expect to build a platform like that unless you’re a celebrity. If you’re a journalist and want to build your platform, you’re going to have to be active.
TESFAZION: Can you tell me about a time you produced a story that you found on social media?
OATMAN: I consider myself a freelance cultural writer. So, I write about the culture, like, pop culture, which is basically just Black culture — that’s kind of what I’m into. You have to go to social media to find out about what’s going on. I’ve had quite a few stories that started as ideas inspired by social media. For example, when that woman used Gorilla Glue in her hair a while ago, I remember seeing people talk about it everywhere so I wrote a story that got pitched through Blavity. That was one of my first big bylines and it was nice. Another time, when Beyoncé had her rodeo-inspired Ivy Park drop, I wrote a story for Essence because I saw how people reacted to it online. I was like “oh my God, I love Beyoncé, I’m a part of the Hive.” It was fun for me to get involved.
TESFAZION: Is it difficult to have a work-life balance when being a journalist on social media? Is that even possible?
OATMAN: You kind of have to make it possible. I hate to say that, but journalism is an industry, it’s about making money, which is rooted in capitalism. When it comes down to a work- life balance, it’s something that you have to fight for, you have to fight for your own peace. As a journalist, you have to make a decision to say “you know what, no. I’m not going to engage for “x” amount of time because I need to be able to have a balance. I need to be able to disconnect.” I don’t care how many little nice therapy sessions a job gives you, they’re not going to want more for you. You have to be able to do that for yourself.
To keep up with Oatman, follow her on Twitter or visit her website here.
