Social Media Is Bringing a Substantial Shift in Journalism: A Report

Journalism that once used to be something that was reserved for a select few who were trained and had the resources to break and proliferate gripping news stories is undergoing a great shift in this digital era. Although, it is a system that a number of people still consider as the most accurate and reliable way to consume news, but a large part of the people have started relying on social networks for getting the most recent and instantaneous news and updates.

The way daily Internet usage is becoming increasingly ubiquitous, the number of people using social media for multiple purposes including the news consumption is increasing day by day and that print media syndications have begun to peter out consequently.

“60% of people use Facbeook as a recurring news source!”

A recent report revealed that about 60% of people use Facbeook to get their daily news and updates and magazines like Newsweek is struggling to move a considerable number of magazines. The abandonment of print media is believed to be one of the biggest changes in journalism to ever take place and media companies were forced to adapt to the shifting trends. If you look at the current trends you will find that it is not just the platform you get news from but even who is going to deliver it you has started getting considered. People are changing their minds about both these things.

[useful_banner_manager banners=27 count=1]

How evident is the shift that’s occurring in Journalism?

It’s a fact that there is of course a shift that’s occurring in journalism but are you all able to make it out? Let’s see!
Let’s look at the media landscape first and try to find out what’s coming in and what’s going out. Are you able to discern that gradually the print media is getting on the verge of extinction and that digital media is replacing it quite swiftly? You are certainly! Right? But that’s not the only thing; the emergence of social media has brought another very big revolution. People now have started finding traditional media outlets too slow no matter whether they publish the news online or offline and they also find their reporting to have too much of agenda. At the same time, when people have this kind of attitude towards traditional media, the explosion of social media and emergence of devices with multiple screens that have internet connections and can record pictures and videos, altogether, have enabled people to produce and share news themselves.

With the help of social media outlets, users can reach a huge number of people by publishing the news that they have documented in real time. Not just that, social media also allows the readers of the news to engage with the one who actually posted the news by contributing their views on the topic, sharing it with others at the same time. So, this is how people interest is shifting away from online papers to ‘citizen journalists’ to get the news and that too all of a sudden.

And, this is something which has made social media outlets to be more thrilled and more active. They are working hard to encourage the behavior of the people by developing various plugins and tools such as the one meant for video sharing. In fact, a number of social media companies have started providing advice on how to create and share a video people would love to see.

How Social Media Encourages Citizen Journalism

Whatever people share on social media sites, it very seldom goes unattended as other users respond to the information that they have shared and express their views on it (negative or positive)by liking, commenting and doing other such activities. So, this is how, social media provides citizen journalists with instant gratification and feedback that encourages their efforts.

Even when someone consumes news on social media by watching videos, they get gratification in the form of interaction and participation when they respond to a story, provide advice or even if they just read comments. So, whether they are citizen journalists or consumers of citizen journalism, they are both equally encouraged by the immediacy of information and the interaction provided.