Effects of Social Media on Journalism

Social media has changed journalism as we know it. The question is, how much?

The world undeniably changed with the introduction of the internet and it’s vast array of information. Introduce smart phones and our access to information, news and entertainment was quite literally at our fingertips. Suddenly everyone had a camera phone and the ability share whatever they wanted with the world. How has this changed journalism? Is everyone essentially a journalist in their own right these days? If everyone is a journalist, how do we control the quality and accuracy of the information we get? Is it acceptable to get your news from social media? Are there benefits to using social media in journalism or are the effects only negative? These are the questions of our generation.

Much like in media, I chose the most shocking title for my first article. As people, we tend to react quickly to drama or shocking news. The truth is that the internet and social media has allowed us to use it to further our own agendas. In some parts of the world, this can be terrifying. Information is spread quickly, but so is hate and fear and in these circumstances it is also still controlled in ways we may not realize. It is important to understand how journalists and curators of media are using social media and what their intentions are. It is important to read the articles and not share carelessly. It is important to realize that many times articles are written to further a specific agenda and that is why you are likely feeling a certain way about an article because that was the intention of the author.

Jennifer Alejandro, a journalist in Singapore, studied the way social media has allowed journalism to evolve. She credits the internet and social media with the ability to access information quickly but warns about the importance of fact checking and reminds journalists to continue to check back with the thread and communicate with those active in the comments. She states that it is a time for journalists to evolve with the new rules of journalism and to be prepared to defend your work and the work of other journalists. In truth, the ability to communicate with readers directly can be a huge benefit to journalists in curating their work to fit what the readers want to know. It also allows for journalists to address any concerns readers may have in this new age of journalism.

Xavier’s speech opens the conversation to the beauty of the public becoming the journalists themselves. He states that we no longer have to depend on a set number of journalists working around the clock to report the news of the world. Today, the journalist can be the person that is in the right place at the right time. He goes on to explain the power and intimacy of sharing the aftermaths of an event by someone who has a personal connection to it. It is no longer a partial journalist arriving on scene hours after the event. It is someone who was there or has lived there and sharing their connection with the event or the location. Suddenly you have a stronger connection to the news and an emotion is attached to it. There may be questions about the ability to hand over the mantle of journalism to the public but Xavier explains the beauty in the raw emotion of a true witness.

Social media has introduced a new level of truth in reporting the news. In the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has given us a new way to record the experiences of people around the world. Never before have we had the opportunity to keep such honest records and certainly never in this capacity. However, it has also opened us up to scrutiny in journalism. There is an almost uncontrolled ability to release information without the need for it to be accurate. This has brought to light an inability to trust everything you read. Journalists are now under intense scrutiny and are looking for ways to show the process they go through to write a story where they never needed to before. A certain level of openness has become necessary in the relationship between a true journalist and the public.

In truth, journalism is experiencing an evolution similar to many industries as a result of recent breakthroughs in technology. Social media has changed the environment of journalism to one more similar to that of someone sweating under an interrogation light rather than the warm flattering light of an interview. Every article, every story, every video is scrutinized and judged to a degree we never needed before and it should be. Without this level of scrutiny, we are left with an onslaught of misinformation or misleading headlines designed to create outrage or panic. The average person does not have the time that has become necessary to fact check every claim or research each event extensively. Therefore, the ability of a journalist to be open about sources and the process of reporting has become essential to making the public trust what they are reading. We may be able to share more emotion through sharing our sides of the news in the moment on social media as citizen journalists, but it is up the the professionals to continue to hunt down the big stories and gives us the facts as much and as often as possible. In reality, social media has allowed the public to become the informants to our journalists in ways that was never possible before. Both journalists and the public must learn to evolve with social media to create a platform that is truly beneficial to reporting the news of the world.

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