The Role of Social Media in Journalism - Term Paper Example

Role of Social Media in Journalism The emergence of digital and social media platforms have resulted to a massive transformation in the field of journalism. The sudden rise of social media is becoming a challenge especially to the traditional forms of journalism and media industries that mostly relied on magazines. This is because unlike in the past generations that normally relied on magazines and television sets for information, present generation acquires most of its information online, especially on social media sites such as FaceBook and twitter (Oh, Agrawal & Rao, 2013). In move to acquire more traffic especially from the young generation, media corporations have also followed their consumers onto online space by creating social media sites. Apart from generating traffic, media corporations have also embraced social media forms of journalism in a move to be at par with competitors (Kerrigan & Graham, 2010). Apart examining values of journalism, the study will also analyze its contribution to the online community. In the current generation, it would be quite unfortunate for journalism corporations not to embrace the rapidly growing technology, especially in social media. This is due to the fact that social media is of great importance to the journalism network. Embracing social media is no longer an option since it is one of those things that are a “must have” for all journalists. Unlike previous generations, the current one is quite literate and normally spends most of the time seeking information on the internet; this is clear indication that it is rare for them to get information from hard copy materials such as books, magazines and newspapers. Because of this, journalists ought to change the ways in which they relay information to the public. Since most people depend on social media for information, journalists have no option but embrace them too. Studies so far conducted show that apart from Facebook, other common social media platforms include twitter, LinkedIn and MySpace (Oh, Agrawal & Rao, 2013). The 21st generation is quite inquisitive to the extent that it is not possible for them to wait until the next day so that they can read about a trending story. To them this is a long time for a generation normally yearning for information. Therefore, by embracing social media, journalists are in a position to post up to date information on what is trending not only in the US but also globally. By doing so, people will become interested with journalists and media corporations that post instant news hence resulting to traffic that is normally directly proportional to increase in income (Kerrigan & Graham, 2010). Studies show that the 21st century has been marred by many social media platforms and it is due to this that the world is termed as “global village” (Waters, Tindall & Morton, 2010). This is because unlike the past, it is now quite easy to communicate in real time with a person in another continent. This is possible through E-mails and websites. According to Waters, Tindall and Morton (2010), most journalists prefer use of e-mail whenever public relations practitioners tend to pitch them with story ideas. This is because 90 per cent of these practitioners feel that e-mails play a huge role in increasing media coverage. Since 1/3 of Americans rely on blogs for information, public relation practitioners have also taken this opportunity to reach out especially to the blogging community in a move to convince them to pitch organizational stories. According to Waters, Tindall and Morton (2010), since media outlets use the HARO service whenever they intend to engage in media catching, they normally have to consider the different levels of employees in these outlets who normally range from interns and entry level journalists to managing and senior editors (Waters, Tindall & Morton, 2010). Since there are many media corporations in the US, it is evident that competition for clients is quite high. It is due to this that most of the corporations have a number of social media sites such as Facebook and twitter, which they use to relay instant new whenever it arises. According to Allgaier et al. (2013), most audiences of the 21st generation want to have a variety of choices; this implies that they normally want to choose what they should read in addition to being in a position to contribute not only contents but also opinions, a term referred as social media revolution. A survey conducted in Germany and the US showed that despite these nations valuing national news, many people prefer accessing information online compared to reading news magazines and watching news (Allgaier et al., 2013). The study also found that whereas older researchers prefer newspapers for science information, this is not the case for younger scientists; this is because most of them prefer online articles. Online platforms also play a major role in not only public opinions but also political decision-making. It is due to the steady decline of print editions of news magazines in addition to challenging advertising revenues that has resulted to the emergence of pundits out to gamble fortunes of news media suppliers (Kerrigan & Graham, 2010). According to Kerrigan and Graham (2010), the rapid decline in the number of newspaper readers has been attributed to the emergence of internet developments such as Web 2.0 that have made many consumers, especially the younger generation move online. It is due to this digital migration that advertisers have followed consumers online. This is in a move to be at par with other competitors and by doing so, the consumers has a large number of options to choose from. Through Web 2.0, users are in a position to use social networks to not only produce items but also distribute them based on opinions and observations (Kerrigan & Graham, 2010). The ever increasing trend of online journalism has brought with it fear of the journalism profession, this is because most people are wondering whether the profession is on its way to distinction. This is because in the current generation, it is possible for anybody who is literate to come up with a blog and start writing articles for the public (Ryfe, 2013). According to Lăzăroiu (2012), social media revolution in the 21st century marked the beginning of a democratic movement, which apart from emphasizing transparency and honesty it also gave a voice to citizens who lacked one. There is a symbiotic relationship between journalism and citizenship; this is because whereas journalism can thrive in the presence of democracy, it can also do well in its absence (Papacharissi, 2009). Embracing social media by journalists and the media industry normally comes with a number of benefits. For instance using online tools normally enable journalists acquire not only information but also feedback and ideas (Siapera & Veglis, 2012). Similarly, continuous interaction with viewers as well as readers results to the creation of strong relationships. It is therefore evident that use of social media gives both journalists and readers the freedom of expression whereby they are in a position to not only freely express their views but also connect with people of similar interests and opinions (Siapera & Veglis, 2012). One of the benefits associated with social media is the ability to create relationships with its users. Although creating relationships does not necessarily result to increase in economic value, when journalists target personal relationships with not only readers but also viewers and listeners, this normally results to traffic for media industries (Cho & Shin, 2014). According to Cottle and Mathews (2013), there are different types of communicative frames normally used in news broadcasting. For instance, the “reporting frame”, normally used in delivering story lines, which is not only concise but also up to date. Similarly, Cottle and Mathews talk about the “dominant frame” whose objective is to convey information controlled by a single news source. Since the social media revolution came to existence in the 21st century, there has been a massive rise on the rate of citizen journalism. This is due to the presence of platforms such as Facebook, twitter as well as YouTube (Cho & Shin, 2014). With the ever-increasing presence of Smartphone technology in addition to wireless connectivity, citizen journalism has been on the rise hence creating a society that is redactional, whereby everybody is in a position to tell a story (Ostertag, 2010). This makes it possible for the world to know what is happening around the globe. According to Fallows (2011), there has been a gradual change in the media and it is because of this that the public life has also changed drastically. Compared to two decades ago, the present media is evolving poorly. It is due to the failure of journalists and media industries that citizens are finding it difficult to not only conduct business but also come up with sensible decisions (Fallows, 2011). This is because the core objective of most media industries encompasses attracting as much traffic as possible towards their sites; they no longer put into considerations effects of the stories posted, so long as it draws readers to their sites, they will publish it. Effects of social media have been seen during crises. According to Oh, Agrawal & Rao (2013), whenever there is a crisis, normally a massive processing and sharing of information takes place, most of the information is never accurate. This normally results to not only information overload but also information dearth, which normally prevents sense making of not only urgent situations but also emergency response operations (Oh, Agrawal & Rao, 2013). For instance, the Mumbai terrorist attack, studies show that police control rooms were full of incorrect reports. For the practice of journalism to be adequate, a number of factors ought to entail consideration, for instance, cultural and ethical journalism. The two are of great importance since they not only signify truth but also context in addition to independence, which normally assist in the organization of democratic form of journalism (Lăzăroiu, 2012). According to Lăzăroiu (2012), symbiosis between democratic values and journalism is normally a basic structure that supports any self-government model. It is therefore the role of democratic citizens to ensure that the quality of journalism improves. Since democratic journalism’s core mission is to report new facts and trends to the public, the media ought to not only inform but also explain in addition to supporting the ideological argument (Lăzăroiu, 2012). According to Bro (2010), there are many factors affecting the journalistic work, both economically and politically. These factors are evident in a number of the recent developments especially in printed media organizations in addition to radio networks as well as television channels. For instance, apart from being major financial contributors, advertisers also aid in the shaping of media contents (Bro, 2010). Since advertising is normally the main source of revenue for any media corporation, news media services ensure that they pursue their audience alongside ensuring they do not offend key advertisers. According to Jacobson (2013), social media plays a major role in breaking of press monopoly. This is because according to studies, a social site such as Facebook is capable of influencing the news agenda. The site it attributed to be behind some of the recent Arab Spring uprisings (Jacobson, 2013). Many journalists normally make use of sites such as Facebook to gather information especially on news emanating from war zones where it is impossible for them to report on ground. Although Facebook can be used in breaking press monopoly, it also has some disadvantages, for instance, it has a lot of information hence making it difficult to distinguish which is accurate and worth publishing (Jacobson, 2013).Apart from the press, journalism students also study social media in learning institutions. According to Wankel et al. (2011), proper teaching of social media skills to journalism students can enable them be in a position to not only dig for unique stories but also enhance their reporting techniques. Due to the ever-increasing technology, such as social media, it is a requirement for any media corporation to embrace the trend. This is because since the main objective on any media corporation is to acquire traffic in order to receive income in form of advertisements, embracing social media is mandatory. Currently there are varieties of social media sites but the most common are Facebook and twitter. Currently, for a journalist to attain up to date information, it is a requirement that he or she has access to these social sites. Although social sites contain massive content, it is normally difficult to differentiate which are accurate and worth publishing. It is due to this that most researchers claim that unlike the past, media industries are doing poorly. Studies show that most journalists as well as media corporations do not consider effects of the story posted; their main objectives are to draw readers to their sites. References Allgaier, J., Dunwoody, S., Brossard, D., Lo, Y., & Peters, H. (2013). Journalism and Social Media as Means of Observing the Contexts of Science.Bioscience, 63(4), 284-287. 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New Jersey: John & Wiley sons Publisher. Wankel, C., Marovich, M., Miller, K., & Stanaityte, J. (2011). Teaching Arts and Science with the New Social Media. Bingley: Emerald Group Publisher. Waters, R. D., Tindall, N. J., & Morton, T. S. (2010). Media Catching and the Journalist-Public Relations Practitioner Relationship: How Social Media are changing the Practice of Media Relations. Journal Of Public Relations Research, 22(3), 241-264. DOI:10.1080/10627261003799202 Read More