Applications and social media platforms currently play a prominent role in delivering information and various types of news content to audiences. Among these applications, "Snapchat" stands out, leading in usage in four countries in the Middle East and North Africa: Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iraq, and Egypt, according to a study conducted by Professor Damian Radcliffe from the University of Oregon, focusing on the use of sites and platforms in the region. In this context, Hussein Freij, General Manager of Snapchat in the Middle East, states that "the number of people viewing content in the Discover feature on Snapchat increases daily, surpassing the number that watches any of the top ten TV channels, both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic." He noted that "users in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait spent an average of 77 minutes daily using the app during Ramadan, and 85% of users in the Middle East and North Africa interact daily with Snapchat lenses, indicating active engagement on the platform."
Building on this, the International Journalist Network highlights Snapchat's contributions to journalism and video content creation. The Snapchat team continues to focus on innovative camera features and exploring new uses for augmented reality (AR) and tools that allow users to express their creativity throughout 2021, according to Freij, who mentioned: "We are working to enhance the impact of our content and will collaborate with publishers to leverage our deep expertise in mobile-designed content."
Many publishers rely on social media applications to disseminate content and reach audiences; one of these applications is Snapchat. Numerous publishers engage dedicated teams to produce and share exclusive stories on this platform, and any journalist can create their own story on Snapchat. Data analyzed by Daily Beast in 2017 revealed that 64% of the app's users send snaps or messages to friends instead of posting a "story," which is primarily executed by newsrooms. Indeed, many publishers have successfully reached a wider audience. For example, the Telegraph was able to share content with an additional 1.04 million daily viewers, according to McKenna Grant, Snapchat's senior content editor at the newspaper. She pointed out that publishing stories featuring videos of animals and celebrity selfies helped the newspaper reach more users. Grant emphasized that "the largest Snapchat audience for the newspaper is between the ages of 18 and 24, followed by the 13 to 17 age group, which is entirely different from traditional followers." She clarified that “the key success factor for a Snapchat story is making it resonate with teenagers and young people."
Given that most publishers recognize Snapchat as a platform for teenagers or "youth," they have developed a desire to be active on this platform. Networks like CNN, Fox News, and The New York Times are among the few media outlets that have successfully attracted an older audience rather than exclusively targeting younger viewers.
**Creating a Story**
Before starting to create a story, journalists must understand that the app's appeal lies in its informality, as journalist Paul Bradshaw notes in a blog titled "Snapchat for Journalists: A Big Guide." He suggests simply starting by capturing vertical photos and short videos within the app and advises providing context for the images by adding text containing some emojis while always remembering to avoid a formal or serious tone.
**The Location of the Story**
The location plays an important role in shaping a story on Snapchat, as the place you choose can significantly impact its spread and reach to a larger audience. Bradshaw gives an example, stating: "Snapchat stories are useful for journalists covering live events, as putting yourself in a suitable and interesting location can grant you more exciting video than sitting and filming yourself in your office."
**Short Interviews**
Journalists using Snapchat to create stories are encouraged to include short interviews relevant to the story they intend to create, adding a mix of voices that good stories should contain.
**Snap Map**
If you are not interested in creating a journalistic story on Snapchat, you can still use the app as a tool for gathering news, especially through the Snap Map feature. Journalists can gain new perspectives on events and news stories and storytelling styles that interest younger audiences, along with insights from Snapchat users who may have access to places that traditional media might be barred from or unable to enter with larger cameras, as Catalina Albino wrote on www.journalism.co.uk. This feature has made Snapchat a more suitable journalistic tool, allowing journalists to research information, images, and videos as they see fit. Through this app, journalists have instant news footage from around the world.
**Discover Feature**
This feature on Snapchat grants journalists access to stories from other users and trending topics across the platform, enabling them to access popular and new stories from various brands and content creators.
**Stay Tuned**
The "Stay Tuned" program from NBC is Snapchat's flagship news program, being the first daily news show on Snapchat. It airs twice daily and covers various topics from politics to entertainment, followed by many young people as their sole news source, as it takes only three minutes of their time. Approximately 75% of the "Stay Tuned" audience is under 25, and 90% are under 34, according to Snapchat's data. Savannah Sellers, Gadi Schwartz, and Lawrence Jackson, who present the program, have become familiar faces for Snapchat users summarizing breaking news from around the world. It is notable that the audience of the program is closely linked to it, possibly due to users feeling involved in the decision-making about what is shown, as the program asks Snapchat users for clips and topics to feature, allowing them to submit questions to be answered during the show. The presence of young, fresh faces also helps attract the audience since young people tend not to follow older generations who discuss news in traditional ways. This trend offers a glimpse into the future of journalism as a digital tool.
**Monetizing with Spotlight**
Snapchat announced that all users can earn money from their stories and snaps, encouraging users to send in their best unique video snaps to its entertainment platform, Spotlight, to receive a share of millions of dollars provided by Snapchat's reward program.
