• Boston Herald, Monday, June 15, 2009 9:30 AM

As local TV stations lose viewers and ad revenue, news directors are using social sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, to generate stories, buzz and, hopefully, boost ratings. For instance, WHDH-TV in Boston uses its 6-month-old Facebook page to offer news updates and ask viewers to help select stories to air on sister station WLVI. Reporters use the site to update fans on the stories they're covering.

Networking sites help stations reach not only people who already watch their newscasts, but friends of those viewers, says Gloria Boone, Suffolk University professor of new media. "The social media is mimicking word-of-mouth referrals, a way of recommending things," she says. "They are providing a word-of-mouth testimonial for that station."

Some stations are even using the social network sites as calling cards in ad sales pitches. Tracie Manna Chinetti, senior buyer at Blitz Media, says she has seen stations use statistics from their online sites in sales presentations. "They [use the sites] to start a buzz about their station," she says.

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