The Social Media Revolution: Exploring the Impact on Journalism and News Media Organizations

Local news organizations may be a different story, though. According to a National Newspapers Association (NNA) press release, “(Stories about newspapers failing) tend to be based on readership and advertising numbers for the major daily newspapers in America, usually the top 100, sometimes the top 250. Yes, absolutely those are big papers, important papers. But they are not the whole story” (“Annual”). Also, an NNA survey found 81 percent of respondents read a local paper each week, and 73 percent read most or all of it (Strupp). Interestingly, this survey also found 53 percent of respondents never read local news online while 12 percent said they often read local news online (Strupp). The Pew perception survey summed this up by saying online news lags behind newspapers, which remain the most popular media outlet, according to the perceptions survey (“Public” 4). Michael Skoler argued as news conglomerates took over local news organizations and made changes people began losing trust in the media. Skoler wrote, “Surveys show a steep drop in public trust in journalism occurring during the past 25 years” (Skoler). In addition, Robert G. Picard found social media tools to be more useful for national and international news organizations than those on the local level. He wrote, “(Social media tools) offer the competitive advantages of making the brand omnipresent in the face of the myriad of competing alternative sources of news and information” (Picard).

Before defining social journalism, a combination of social media and journalism, one must understand what journalism itself is: A person witnessing and recording an event (Klose 2). According to Kevin Klose, “In its simplest, but perhaps most profound, form, journalism is as old as human existence” (Klose 2). Monica Guzman, a news gatherer at seattlepi.com, said, “Journalism is about listening, so if you’re not listening to people who are talking, then you’re not doing your job” (Podger 36). But what’s social journalism? According to Woody Lewis, a social journalist can be defined as a person with a premeditated watchdog role who uses social media to communicate and collaborate with readers. Crowd dynamics shape the social journalist’s stories more than editors do (Lewis 1). Vadim Lavrusik offers a similar definition by saying the goal of social journalism is to build a community through engagement. He wrote, “In a way, social networks are the new editorial page, rich with opinions and ideas” (Lavrusik 3). Gordon also related to the collaboration concept by saying the media’s current biggest mistake is considering news to be a one-way, rather than a two-way, communication form (Gordon). Gordon pointed out that digital communities aren’t brand new; his newspaper began creating discussion boards in the late 1990s.

“We didn’t think that cultivating community or moderating discussions were appropriate or necessary roles for a journalist. And we ignored evidence right in front of us — our own behavior as online users — that the most powerful and persistent drive of Internet usage was that value of connecting with other people” (Gordon).

Joel Comm would probably agree with Gordon. He wrote those who use social media correctly don’t create content but generate conversations, which creates communities (Comm 3). These conversations have become the status quo online and the main reason many people even use the Internet on a regular basis. Also, many people do not want to simply be fed information; they also want to find and share it with others as well as connect directly with sources and writers instead of going through a reporter or news organization (Skoler).

“(People) expect to be listened to when they have knowledge and raise questions. They want news that connects with their lives and interests. They want control over their information. And they want connection — they give their trust to those they engage with — people who talk with them, listen and maintain a relationship” (Skoler).

Picard wrote journalists can benefit from creating relationships with their audiences (Picard). Lavrusik also touched on this idea in his article quoting Jeff Jarvis, professor and director of interactive media at CUNY’s Graduate School of Journalism. Jarvis said, “We used to always have the audience come to us, but that’s not the case anymore” (Lavrusik 2). Jarvis’s statement shows the importance of the shift from media organizations being in charge to people being in charge, or, if not in charge, at least having a say. Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff, authors of “Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies,” wrote, “Lawyers and entrepreneurs aren’t the most powerful force on the Internet. People are. And people, empowered by technology, won’t always go along. Media isn’t neatly boxed into little rectangles called newspapers, magazines and TV sets anymore” (Li 5). Comm wrote similar sentiments, saying major media outlets can’t report information as quickly or as accurately as those who are actually at the scene of the event (Comm xiv). In the past, though, those who were on the scene before news organizations didn’t have anywhere to speak up besides through journalists. Now, journalism has faced a dilemma because, in today’s world, people can get online and publish their stories without ever even thinking about a journalist. “It can cost literally nothing to create content and make it available for other people to enjoy,” Comm wrote (Comm 1).

Giving consumers the ability to publish information more efficiently isn’t good news for everyone, though; multiple problems emerge from the change. First, many blog posts are still opinion-oriented rather than first-coverage news oriented, meaning most blogs don’t offer journalistically reported news content (Holtz 2). Second, the emergence of bloggers means news media organizations now face much more competition (Picard). Thirdly, true investigative journalism, like that done to uncover the Watergate scandal, faces a threat that could render it impossible because bloggers may not want to perform the meticulous work investigative journalism involves. Bloggers will probably want to focus on what interests them rather than on what’s important for the public. Also, even if they want to do the work, bloggers may not be able to financially (Holtz 2). However, whether or not critics embrace or discourage social media’s arrival, it is here and cannot be turned away. But the news media industry can use social media to its advantage if it thinks quickly. According to Skoler, “Social media are the route back to a connection with the audience. And if we use them to listen, we’ll learn how we can add value in the new culture. The new journalism must be a journalism of partnership. Only with trust and connection will a new business model emerge” (Skoler).

To understand how social media has affected journalism, one should understand the most popular social media tools for journalists, the most popular of the day being Twitter and Facebook. To start, one could consider a story from Chris Martin, a public relations professional for more than 20 years. He said social media has helped him build and maintain relationships with reporters (Martin). His example involved a health reporter in Chicago with whom he was friends on Facebook. The reporter began updating her Facebook status with stories she was working on, and one of the stories related to a topic Martin wanted to pitch to the media. So, Martin put her in contact with a few of his clients, allowing both reporter and PR professional to win in the situation (Martin). Other communications professionals have also learned as they move around in the social media world. Courtney Lowery wrote about how her organization made “rookie mistakes” when it embarked on the Facebook and Twitter journey, but the organization was able to correct its mistakes to create a more effective presence (Lowery).

While media organizations and journalists may seem to mention Twitter more than other social media tools, it may not be the most popular with the general public. According to Adam Ostrow, Facebook dominates the social media landscape as the most popular way to share information online. E-mail comes in second followed by Twitter and, in last place, MySpace (Ostrow). However, this report will discuss MySpace, Digg, Facebook and Twitter, with the focus heavily on Twitter.

MySpace sprang to popularity in 2006, becoming the most popular Web site in the world in terms of page views (Briggs 28). News Corporation purchased the site in 2005 for $580 million (Briggs 28). MySpace as a journalistic tool can become a resource for contacting sources and communicating with audiences, according to Leah Betancourt (Betancourt 3). In addition to MySpace, social bookmarking sites are also impacting journalism. At Digg.com, users vote and comment on news stories, and stories receiving the most votes are featured on the site’s homepage as the most popular stories (Li 3). The community atmosphere has made Digg and other social bookmarking sites rather popular among the public. According to Skoler, “These social bookmarking sites help people find relevant news based on who is recommending stories. Anyone can play, even if experienced and dedicated users have an advantage” (Skoler). In addition to stories like Martin’s above, Facebook tools like the Facebook Connect Service can help media organizations because the application allows Facebook users to log on to other sites using their Facebook IDs instead of creating another site-specific account (Gordon).