Why is the News so Social?

Understanding the Impact of Social Media on Journalists and Journalism

By: Omar Azimi

There was once a time when the job of a journalist was to investigate the facts, interview sources, and write a compelling story. The job of getting people to read the story was easy and was the responsibility of the publisher. Today, any journalist who does not actively promote themselves and his or her work, is destined for a short career.

The web in general, and social media in particular, has changed journalism forever. People now look to their Facebook and Twitter feeds for everything from sports scores to the latest local happenings to national politics. These social media news feeds are nothing like the newspapers of previous generations where modern journalism was founded.

Standing Out in a Crowded Marketplace

Advertising has always funded journalism. Newspapers and magazines were read by everyone for the information they contained. Advertisers bought space in these publications to get in front of eyeballs. Publishers invested part of that ad revenue into journalism. Good stories sold more copies.

Now advertising is online. Advertisers pay for views and clicks. Advertisers know exactly how many people are reading a webpage and they pay more for more views.

The web is filled with more information than just journalism. Journalists must now compete with guides about Pokémon Go and how-to articles for a reader’s attention. Social media is the way journalists promote themselves and their work. They cannot rely on the front page of a newspaper or search engines.

Instead journalists become their own brands. They attract followers and post links to their work to try and increase page views. Part of building an online brand requires journalists to engage with readers directly. Building “personal” relationships with readers helps create an instant audience for future work.

Democratizing Information

The dark side to social media and the web is that well-researched articles fight for attention against articles that contain no facts, no sources, and incredible headlines. The web has been hailed as a great force in the democratization of access to information. This is a wonderful benefit of our time. But, information itself has also been democratized. This is a problem. Not all information is equal.

Many social media news feeds are filled with political stories that are nothing more than rumors and fairy tales dressed up to look like journalism. These stories are shown to the people most likely to read them by computer algorithms. Journalists are forced to compete with these click-bait pieces with their more nuanced and factual stories. Facts are rarely as visceral as rumors.

Citizen Journalism and the News Cycle

Social media has changed also changed the news cycle. The news cycle was once determined by publication of newspapers, which happened once or twice a day, and then the nightly newscast on TV. But, the web is always on. The news cycle is constantly going. People are always online looking for information.

Citizen journalism is also affecting the way journalists work. Unlike lawyers, doctors, or other professionals, there is no licensing for being a journalist. Citizen journalists, men and women without any formal training or ethical constraints, can know compete directly with traditional journalism for readers.

Citizen journalism is a mixed blessing. More diverse voices now influence the conversation. Citizen journalists now report local stories that would never get any coverage before. However, the number of bloggers and citizen journalists creating content leads to the information glut that makes it harder for exceptional journalism to stand out.

The best news for journalists is that now, more than ever before, they have control over their own future. The better they are at mastering social media and the more readers they attract to their personal brands and stories the better careers they will have and the more money they will make.

The bad news is that now, more than ever before, journalists have control over their own future.