Social Media's Impact on Journalism
With the growing use of social media to report news the
consumer perception of real time news is changing - people now expect to
receive news instantaneously and expect constant updates of developments. This is
significantly influencing the direction and practice of journalism. The availability
of these online blogs and social media networks has changed the way that
journalists are able to operate and it can be a valuable tool aiding journalists
in their newsgathering, audience engagement and it can act as another platform
for content.
Image – http://roymorejon.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/social-media-news-facebook-twitter.jpg
It is important to note that social media and blogs are not
replacing journalism, but they are adding another layer of information to
existing news sources. One key way that social media has changed how
journalists approach the news is through helping journalists in newsgathering
and crowdsourcing. This has helped them to collect more material on news
stories and has provided access to a wider range of voices who are able to tell
their own stories and opinions on the matter. Social media also helps
journalists to source eyewitnesses quickly, as people are keen to tweet or post
about interesting things they have witnessed to tell their friends about what
they saw. This can be a significant benefit making it easier for journalists to
track down those who might have a first-hand account of an event.
However, this also
means that in some cases journalists are having to compete with the average
citizen for breaking news as sites, such as Twitter, are increasingly being used as a source of news and a way to spread news by the younger generations.
Furthermore, journalists still need to check, verify and evaluate news claims found
on social media before they report on them.
Image - amijounalist.blogspot.com
The demand for instant news stories has changed the way that
journalists traditionally function. For example, when the bombs exploded at the
finish line of the Boston marathon in April 2013, many of the members of staff
of the local news team – the Boston Globe - were actually running in the
marathon or were already covering it live. The changing consumer perception of
news and the desire for real-time updates has encouraged journalists to step
into their roles in situations like this, live-tweeting from the scene and
updating readers with vital information on the events. Twitter has even created
a new system , released yesterday, that reflects the way that emergency news
can instantly be relayed to a large audience in times of need. Twitter Alerts enables
public institutions to send out emergency alerts via text message and push
notifications – “a new feature that brings us one step closer to helping users
get important and accurate information from credible organizations during
emergencies, natural disasters or moments when other communications services
aren’t accessible”.
One of the greatest positives of social media for journalists
is the way that it has the power to engage with greater audiences. Social media
is able to move information quickly among a large group of people, and can
provide a valuable two-way engagement with the audience, changing significantly
how journalists talk to their audiences and listen to the audience’s response. This
can mean that local news is able to transform into international news very
quickly as social media has the power to transfer information across the world
instantaneously.
The power of social media to expand audience engagement can
also be seen through the way that it can act as a platform for content to
redirect viewers to branded news sites. For instance the Telegraph has detected a significant upsurge in the importance of
social networks as a form of distribution with over 8 per cent of all page
views to the Telegraph Online now as a result of recommendations in networks
like Digg, Facebook and Twitter. Established journalists may also choose to utilise
social media because it can act as another way to distribute their content
which they have researched but been unable to use in TV or radio – this way it
ensures that their hard work and research does not go wasted.
What do you think?
Do you think social media has changed the way journalists
report the news?
Social Media's Impact on Journalism
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Reviewed by Anonymous
on
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Rating:
Anonymous
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