Journalism Blog Post

Social Media & Journalism

Social media seems to be a pretty valuable tool when it comes to journalism in today’s day in age. A scholarly article online stated that influential leaders were more likely to acknowledge the value of social media. Professionals in the communications field have been pressured to realize the impact that social media has on audiences.

Another article from The Huffington Post stated how social media is changing journalism. It stated that “anyone with a cell phone and a Twitter account can do it.” Journalists job has not changed, but the article states that social media has made their job harder because information can be published without being confirmed. Social media allows for news to not be ignored by an audience.

Most people expect social media to be a place where they can get a reliable version of the news that can quickly be read and understood. The first article did a good job of providing statistics and reasons why social media in important and the results that it produces.

The Huffington Post article did a good job of emphasizing just how useful social media is and the role that it plays on a day to day basis. It also shared how many people get their news on a social media format. These statistics help to make their claims credible and give authority the article. The article could have provided more specific examples of how social media is used for journalists rather than just being vague with the term “social media”, but overall, both of the articles had a positive view of social media and the importance of it.

In today’s day and age, people are on their phones and tablets and laptops constantly. Audiences spend hours upon hours looking at social media and I think that it is very important for journalists to use this to their advantage. Rather than trying to get people to read news from sources such as apps for news organizations, journalists can reach readers on social media where they already are. I think social media is beneficial and extremely effective when it comes to sharing information.

Social media is effective for journalists because:

· It is extremely accessible from many platforms

· It can be read and understood quickly and easily to keep the audience’s attention

· It can be interactive and allow readers to respond and share information

Being a college student and always in a rush, being able to understand news in a timely matter is very important. Most people can relate to this because they have busy schedules and want to be given the most vital information of a news story immediately and can dig deeper into a story at a later time.

Social media also allows for news to be shared and spread to other people faster. On platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, an article could be shared with the click of one button. This method allows for a sense of urgency and timeliness to be reached that could not be experienced from a print article. I think that it is extremely important for journalists to continue to provide reliable, timely news on social media outlets.