How the Social Media Twitter and Facebook Change the Newsroom - Research Proposal Example

Dissertation Proposal on How the Social Media ‘Twitter and Facebook’ Change the Newsroom Introduction: Considering the present day, the use and influence of the social media cannot be ignored. Be it in the personal lives of human beings, or in the workplaces, the use of social media can be observed to have increased drastically and is continuously increasing. Particularly for the younger generation social media has become a part of their personal and professional lives. Studies suggest that the saturation point of reaching a figure for the number of users of social media may not be obtained in the near future since the figure is ever rising with every passing year (Arno 2012). Facebook and Twitter are two of the most common social networking sites that are being used in the present day. With their increasing uses, measures are also been concerned by different libraries to allow these networks to reach out to their users and fans. It can be said that these two social networking sites are in competition with each other in terms of their popularity (Tagtmeier 2010). With such increasing use of the social media, the effect and influence of its use has also been reflected in the newsroom. News journalists and reporters have their accounts in these social network sites and in many cases; these sites are used as tools for their reporting. However it has been also noted that it is necessary for journalists to keep in mind that when they are using these sites even through their personal accounts, they are also representing the news organizations that they belong to (Betancourt 2009). The present study would be focused on an understanding of how the social media like facebook and twitter is changing the newsroom also taking into consideration whether the media company establishes a ‘new media’ section, studying the effects on the desk editor as well. Rationale of the Study: The importance of this particular research lies in the fact that with the increasing use of the social media like facebook and twitter, the influence on the news journalists and reporters has been found to be significantly high. The journalists and reporters are not only using these sites as their tools of reporting but many times, there are wrong information being spread on which they become dependent for their news. The most important change that has been observed in the newsroom is that the audience are given greater importance now as to what they are thinking and talking about depending on which several news are reported (Harres 2013). Thus with social media having great influence and bringing significant change in the newsroom, a research study would be worth considering in order to learn about the changes that social media has brought about in the newsroom, whether the changes are on the desk editor as well and whether the media company is establishing a ‘new media’ section. Literature Review: As Wankel and Wankel (2012) mentioned in their studies, the use of social networking as is prevalent in the present times had initiated in the later 1991. Social networking became highly popular among its users since it allowed them to interact in an online manner where earlier their mode of interaction had to be offline. Naturally relationships were improved as a result of such enhanced interactions. With these, some of the most popular social networking websites that are used in the present times include Facebook, Twitter, Orkut, MySpace among others. Some of the activities that are included under the heading of social media are blogs, social book-marking, media-sharing and so on (Wankel and Wankel 2012). It can thus be realized that the use of social networking sites has become significantly popular in the present times. Biagi (2010) discussed in his studies that the social networking sites have revolutionized the technological world making it easier and comfortable for networking and sharing of information among friends, colleagues or anyone that one feels like. His studies reflect that people would rather be more interested in sharing any particular story through the use of internet rather than searching the same on any printed media or source (Biagi 2010). Telofski (2010) in his studies mentioned that the social media in the present times is being used by the public for the purpose of communicating and distributing propaganda where the social networking has allowed many people to communicate with many others through the technology of the Web (Telofski 2010). Although the popularity of any particular social networking site varies from country to country, yet studies have revealed that the most popular social networking site in the present times has been proved to be Facebook (Wankel and Wankel 2012). Facebook had been initiated by a group of students of the Harvard University and in the year 2010 it has reflected a record of 500 million users. Of these users, 50 percent has been found to use the site on a regular basis. The site is continuously being developed and enhanced owing to the increased use and demand of the public. Even in the field of education, the use of social media is having a significant effect where schools, colleges and universities are making use of the site to provide lessons to the students who spend most of their times over these sites (Wankel and Wankel 2012). It can thus be realized that there is a growing dependence of the public in general on the social networking sites as far as the present times are concerned. As Sethi (2010) reflected in her studies, social networking has become a useful means for communication both among friends as well as for the purpose of businesses. Considering business, a two-way means of communication is highly essential which is effectively being provided by the internet technology particularly through the social networking sites. Moreover, these social networking sites provide certain great advantages to its users. For example, a worldwide presence can be made through the social networking sites by simply putting little information about him/her self on the site and creating an account (Sethi 2010). Other studies by Parsons and Oja (2009) have reflected on the negative aspects of the use of social networking sites. For example, if the proper use of these sites is not learnt, then private messages and information may get shared with the public. This may be prevented through proper security settings that one needs to learn. Moreover, issues like private accounts getting hacked and misused are also common problems of these social networking sites. This is relevant in cases of both Twitter and Facebook that are the most commonly used social networking sites. Moreover it is also essential for the public to share their posts and comments carefully such that sensitive issues may be avoided. In many cases celebrities tend to post such information and comments that might indulge increasing publicity for them but do not often prove to be healthy for the public in general (Parsons and Oja 2009). Twitter and Facebook and the Effect of Newsroom: The effect of the social networking sites has also been observed, as studies reflect, on the newsroom where the news journalists are making use of the social networking sites on a regular basis and are being highly dependent on the use of such sites. While journalists post their personal information or views on any news or report on their personal Facebook page or Twitter account, it has been observed that such posts have significant influence on their profession as well as the news organization that they are involved with (Kolodzy 2012). This is primarily because the activities of the journalists are continuously being scrutinized by the public over these sites. It can be said that news journalists are considered equivalent to the public figures, government agencies or celebrities that common people tend to get interested in and hence follow (Kolodzy 2012). Studies by Pedersen (2013) have focused on the sports journalism that has been significantly influenced by the social networking sites. Journalists of the sports news and reporting have been found to use the social networking sites on a regular basis where Twitter and Facebook are most commonly being used by them. It has also been found that the use of social media for the purpose of reporting has been more common among the young journalists of the present times while the experienced people are still dependent on the old school methods of news reporting (Pedersen 2013). As studies reveal, journalists in the present times highly rely on the reactions and opinions of the public that are being shared on the social networking sites. Earlier, news from the public used to be relied upon when the public called or emailed the newsroom informing on any particular news. However, with the social networking sites, “newsroom monitor social media sites and mine them for information, still, and video” (Alysen 2012). For example, videos posted on sites like YouTube covering natural disasters are most likely posted by the common people that are later on used by the newsroom for reporting. Potential interviewees are contacted by searching through the social networking sites like Facebook looking for the pictures and posts of the public. Twitter also acts an essential source of information or breaking news ‘as witnesses share what they’ve seen or heard” (Alysen 2012). The role of the editors can also be said to be changing with the increasing use of social networking sites since editors are more and more trying to become interactive editors. They are trying to achieve this through their studies on the social networking sites where different news and information are being shared by the general public in different manners. Their main aim in the present times has become to present the news to the world as quickly as possible with the news being accurate. News articles are thus being published online as well such that news is reaching the common public faster than before (Craft and Davis 2013). With the increasing use and popularity of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, the newsrooms and news journalists in the present times are focusing more on establishing their presence on the social networking sites thus allowing themselves to reach out to the common public more effectively. Not only are news reaching the public faster and easier but also the newsrooms are effectively making use of the public posts and opinions for the purpose of reporting. This two-way means of communication has thus modified and enhanced the interactions between the newsrooms and the common public as well (Logan and Logan 2011). Methodology: The research philosophy that would be considered for this particular research is interpretivism. Based on this philosophy, the study would be able to combine different approaches and experiences of the world to come to an effective conclusion of the topic of study concerned. The experiences, behaviors and opinions of the human beings are the primary focus of this philosophy that holds significant in this particular research, with intentions to bring out an authenticated outcome of the study. Thus the individual understanding of the research topic would be taken into consideration (Collins 2010). The influence of the social media on the newsroom can be effectively studied with a focus on this research philosophy. The study would be based on a combination of qualitative and quantitative research techniques. Through the qualitative research approach, a natural technique would be followed to the topic of research and the results would be tried to be obtained from the available facts and figures from the researched data. This approach would make use of case studies, individual experiences, interviews, and related processes that would give details about the problems and interpretations of activities associated with the changes occurring in the newsroom due to the use of social media. On the other hand, quantitative methods involve expressing the data and information collected in the form of numbers or amounts (Thomas 2003). Thus the quantitative data would include any data that reflects on the statistics of the changes in the newsroom owing to the social media leading to effective conclusions to the study. Data collection for the research would be based on both primary and secondary sources. Considering a research study, primary data or secondary data or a combination of both may be used. Primary data are those that a researcher obtains himself after making a detailed research work. That is to say, the data collection happens directly from the sources by the researcher (Malhotra, 2008). On the other hand, secondary data refer to those that are not new but have already been obtained by some other researchers at some point of time. These sources can be obtained from secondary sources, through literature reviews and use of books, journals and other authentic articles from the internet, used to analyze a particular study. Secondary sources can be obtained with ease and are less expensive than the primary data. Moreover primary data is more time consuming in comparison to secondary data (Malhotra, 2008). For the research study on the effect of Twitter and Facebook on newsroom, both primary and secondary resources would be collected and used for analysis. Secondary data would help in identification of the problem, defining the problem in a better manner, developing an approach for solving the problem, formulate an appropriate research design, answer questions related to the fulfillment of research objectives and in interpreting data with more insights into it. Thus use of secondary data provides with some great advantages. Moreover it is less time consuming and less expensive as well. Although there may be limitations in using secondary data since these reflect studies that have already been conducted that might not be accurate in answering the required objective questions, yet the secondary method is capable of providing near to accurate results if appropriate study and analysis can be done (Malhotra, 2008), and has thus been chosen along with primary sources for the study. For the primary data collection, five newspapers would be considered as model case studies for the research. These include: Alriyadh Newspaper (Saudi Arabia); Alyaum Newspaper (Saudi Arabia); Sabq Newspaper (Saudi Arabia – online); Ahram Newspaper (Egypt); and Alrroya “Emirates Newspaper”. Moreover, interviews would be conducted with the Editor in Chief for each of the above mentioned newspapers, particularly focusing on their use and dependence on Facebook and Twitter. For the purpose of primary data collection, questionnaires would be formed and distributed that would later be analyzed for the analysis of responses. Secondary sources that would be used in this study would mainly include materials obtained from the internet websites, the books, articles and journals, the previous studies conducted on the current topic, case studies on different newspapers and news channels that reflect the use, importance and effects of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Ethical issues are extremely vital for a research study since researches involve compilation of data, evaluation of different certified information and the research results that are based on the analysis of such data collection. Codes of ethics help in understanding the accurate and the inaccurate measures such that the correct rules may be followed and the wrong ones may be discarded. Ethical issues are thus required in any kind of research. Both qualitative and quantitative researchers are generally involved in investigation, assessment, and explanation of human feature, human experiences, and their opinions and values. Thus “concepts of relationships and power between researchers and participants” are highly significant in the research process. Maintaining ethical standards is crucial as professionalism and avoidance of wrong measures is expected and demanded of every research work (Orb, Eisenhauer & Wynaden, 2000). The different codes of ethics, that are essential for a research, include truthfulness, impartiality, specialized proficiency and due care, discretion and professional conduct. To maintain integrity, reasonable dealing and honesty should exist in the research work. Each and every matter should be addressed individually and with utmost care. Personal influence should not have an effect on the outcomes of the research objectives. Professional standards in regard to knowledge and care need to be absolutely maintained. Revelation of information requires proper backup supports such that illegal measures are not taken in addressing different data and disclosing them to the public. Furthermore, professional behavior needs to be highly maintained in any research work so as not to have an effect on the professional relationships with respect to any step taken in the process. Transparency should be maintained while doing the research work and each and every procedure followed for the research work require to be clearly mentioned in the report (Ethical Dilemmas: What would you do?, n.d.). Ethical factors would be duly kept in focus while conducting the research work. The collection and analysis of data would be done with due care to ensure that professional ethics is not harmed by any wrongdoings. While dealing with the newspapers and the news journalists using the social networking sites, care would be taken regarding the limitations of disclosing facts. Also, every detail of the steps adopted for the study would be provided in the dissertation. Transparency would be maintained and sources of all data that would be used for the study would be provided in references or bibliography. Data would be handled with utmost care and analyzed with detailed processes and consuming enough time to ensure that professional ethics are maintained to the utmost level. The verification of qualitative or quantitative data is also extremely important. Hence the research would base its judgment on the accuracy, reliability, and precision of the data collected. Credibility and verification of data are required to be taken utmost care of, so that there would not arise any grounds of mistrust on the research (Denscombe, 2007). Utmost care would be taken to ensure that the websites used from the internet are not unauthentic and they contain proper articles and information provided by different theorists or authors. Books and journals would be considered as they are authentic in nature and provide with useful information on the concerned topic. Thus credibility and verification have been maintained in the study with the use of appropriate authentic information available through the secondary sources. Since the research study has also considered secondary sources for the collection of data, certain limitations of the research would be obtained in the availability of data. The credibility and authenticity of the data would be kept in note. Not all websites provide with authentic information. Hence limited sources would be available and made used for the study when the secondary sources are considered. Moreover secondary sources reflect the studies and information that have already been in existence for a while. Research projects require time allocation to each and every part of the research. Time consideration for a research is very essential, as it will make it easier to write the research in a systematic way. Also, data collection and analyzing depends on the time available. Since this is a study involving both primary and secondary sources, therefore movement across different newspaper offices would be also be there along with and collection of information from the secondary sources. The time allocation for the preparation of the dissertation has thus been prepared as follows: Activity Estimated Time Introduction 1 week Literature Review 3 – 4 weeks Internet searching and collection of data and information (Primary and secondary) 4 weeks Analyzing collected data 0.5 – 1 weeks Conclusion 1 week The above mentioned time activity would be maintained for the preparation of the dissertation. A long period of time has been allocated to the searching and collection of data as this would be the most important and time consuming step in the research process and hence would require due care. Conclusion: Once all the necessary data is collected for the study, from both the primary and the secondary sources, a detailed analysis would be conducted on the responses of the interviewees as well as on the previous researches that have been conducted on the current topic. From the detailed study and analysis, a conclusion would be drawn to determine how the social media like Twitter and Facebook change the newsroom in the present times, whether the social networking sites change the role of the desk editor as well, and whether the media companies are establishing new media sections with their increasing dependence on the social networking sites. References Alysen, B. (2012) The Electronic Reporter: Broadcast Journalism in Australia. New South Wales: UNSW Press. Arno, C. (2012) Worldwide Social Media Usage Trends in 2012. Search Engine Watch. [Online]. Available at: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2167518/Worldwide-Social-Media-Usage-Trends-in-2012 [Accessed 11 May 2013]. 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