When I chat with my colleagues who have spent time working in journalism outlets – whether it be print, broadcast or digital – I find a common thread about the impact of a major change in audience expectations.
The advancement of technology and social media has allowed us to truly be interactive.
One person who knows this well is Bishara Dorre, who for the past 11 months has been one of the three Fox Sports Wisconsin Girls.
"I’m fairly new to Fox," the Milwaukee area native said. "We get to interact with the fans and be representatives with the community. We are hometown girls who love all Wisconsin sports teams."
On the surface, it seems a pretty simple concept – get out there and interact with the viewers. However, the work that Dorre and her peers do is to build relationships, to the point that the viewers take ownership of the cable sports outlet.
"The fan base is interactive, and we stay connected through social media," Dorre said. "And we get to interact with them face-to-face at sporting events."
Dorre also gets to interact with fans throughout the community at different events. Some of the appearances are business related, like a fitness club grand opening. Other events can go deeper, like working with area charities and organizations.
"One of the most gratifying (experiences) was working with the Special Olympics Wisconsin," she said.
Dorre enjoys her time spent with Sage and Chyna, fellow Fox Sports Wisconsin Girls, and got to attend her first Green Bay Packers game against the Cleveland Browns last Sunday. They spent the day with the Fox Sports Ohio Girls around Lambeau Field and visiting the tailgaters before finding their seats in the stands.
This Sunday, she will be working with the Fox Sports North Girls at the Minnesota Vikings game, cheering on the Packers at the Metrodome.
"My schedule is pretty busy with appearances with Fox Sports Wisconsin and as Miss Wisconsin USA," Dorre said, pointing out the duties since earning the crown and 2014 title earlier this year.
Dorre, who was also a Miss Wisconsin Teen USA, will go on to compete in the Miss USA pageant sometime next year.
"My mom was a social worker, so I’ve seen first-hand some of the things people deal with," Dorre said.
She works with the Best Buddies Wisconsin and uses the platform of Miss Wisconsin USA to gain awareness for the organization that works on one-to-one relationships with people dealing with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Even though the broadcast major who graduated from Columbia has been to plenty of Packers activities as of late, but her true love is the Bucks.
"I’ve been dancing with the Bucks Energee for three years," she said. "I love watching the games … I’m a huge fan."
I asked her if she had a favorite social media outlet to work with, as each can have a different way of interacting with different segments of the audience.
"I really like Twitter more because of the interaction is with the fans directly. The messages are a more direct back and forth," she said.
You can chat with the Fox Sports Wisconsin Girls on Twitter here or on Facebook.
Dorre has some broadcast experience, working as a fill-in morning weather reporter on WTMJ-TV Ch. 4, and I’m sure we will see more of her on Fox Sports Wisconsin this year.
Media is bombarding us everywhere.
Instead of sheltering his brain from the onslaught, Steve embraces the news stories, entertainment, billboards, blogs, talk shows and everything in between.
The former writer, editor and producer in TV, radio, Web and newspapers, will be talking about what media does in our community and how it shapes who we are and what we do.