Taking
a look at the influence of social media on journalism through the eyes of the
journalists that have lived it.
By Joshua Gresham
It has been over a decade since Facebook
was created and more than eight years since the inception of Twitter. Few would
have anticipated just how quickly and on what scale these forms of social media
would be imbedded into everyday life. Fewer still would have predicted to what
extent these new forms of media, this digital media, would influence and change
the scope of journalism. For better or for worse is yet to be seen. It is
however abundantly clear that technology changes things, it has impact and
influence, and in the case of journalism it has been no different.
The Editor (Eve
Nesmith – Editor, The Maitland Mercury)
A 23-year veteran of news media named Eve Nesmith recalls the days when teams of people were required to create printing press plates out of molten melt. “Now one person can create an entire digital replica of a page single-handedly using a computer and a program,” she remembers.
Eve thought about a time now long gone, a
time when wooden pigeonholes were checked for handwritten messages. When envelopes
delivered the mail not the Internet. Much had changed over the course of her
career, the emergence of social media has “smashed down the ivory tower” so she
said. Not only was Eve, as a journalist, more accessible and accountable, but
it had also created a two-way dialogue with the readers. It had provided
readers, the audience as you will, with the means to communicate, share and
express their opinions not only with each other on a global scale, but with
those responsible for writing the stories. The journalists themselves were more
accountable than ever before.
Whilst the modes of delivery have been altered
with “Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all playing integral roles in content
dissemination,” Eve believes the underlying foundations are the same.
“A story is still a story; contacts are
still vital. The platform and voice may change but news sense and relevance
remain constant.” Eve said.
Initially however, it was not the smoothest of transitions. The threat
to newspapers and the livelihood of journalists such as Eve was evident. “I was
briefly concerned at the proliferation of bloggers,” she remembers. Eve was and
still is sound in the belief however, that the audience would continue to seek
the accurate and quality information of professional journalists. The
importance of making this more accessible was becoming clearer.
Although social media opens up the public to a wide range of views, it
can also provide an extremely narrow experience for readers. Eve is most
greatly concerned for humanity, in that the public will choose to only tune
into those they agree with. “I fear it limits our humanity and empathy our
education and awareness,” she says.
“Mistruths, assumptions and errors spread like wildfire around the globe
when journos fail to check the accuracy and credibility of information,” she
said. Whilst “Twitter is a great tool for journalism,” the dangers of it and
other social media outlets are clear. However, Eve drills into the heads of
each and every staff member the mantra of “no one-source reporting ever!” a
foundation of good journalism and one that she believes must remain of key
importance.
Despite the drawbacks, it dawned on Eve just how important the emergence
of social media and digital media was to the future of journalism. A
self-confessed Twitter addict, she believes the positive applications to be
countless and its potential somewhat hard to grasp.
“Twitter comes into its own during a large-scale event, such as the fall
of a government, or an act of war. So many voices and experiences in chorus on
the same topic, but with varied perspectives,” she said.
Eve has
brought with her a 20 per cent overall audience increase in her first year as
Editor of the Maitland Mercury. Through developing a reverse publishing, online
first, model at the paper Eve and her team are embracing the future of
journalism and its every growing relationship with social media. She acknowledges
its increasing importance leaving the thought that “we probably can't even
imagine how it will next evolve.”
The Digitalist (Shoba Rao – Online Journalist, National
News Desk)
Shoba Rao started and grew both the Facebook and Twitter accounts of The Daily Telegraph from scratch for 2 years, in her role as Social Media Editor. The pressure to push the publication forward was something she strongly felt. “With the growth of online news, social media had become a news gathering tool newsrooms couldn’t operate without,” she remembers. It has resulted in the newsroom being manned 24hours a day in an online sense.
Shoba has
witnessed the dramatic change journalism has undergone during the last decade.
Currently working as an online/digital journalist for the National News desk
she is on the front lines of this continued evolution.
“Where and how
news breaks and how it is covered,” said Shoba. That is the one of the most
drastic and major influences that the relationship between social media and
journalism has brought about.
Shoba was
quick to embrace new media in its infancy and like the field she works in, it
has shaped her career path as a digital journalist. She looked back to her work
on the Rolf Harris and Oscar Pistorius trials and the role new media played.
“Some stories
also emerge from the online space and it's great to be part of some of the
biggest news stories of the day or night first ahead of anyone,” she remembers.
Social media played an integral role in helping to produce live coverage of the
events. “Without it, our ability to produce the news in such a way and provide
the readers with adequate coverage would have been extremely difficult,” she
recalled.
Shoba seeks to
continue and further enhance the relationship between journalism and social
media. Whilst working for the National News desk she has first hand experience
of the role it plays in the current landscape. “Social media is crucial to
journalism - it helps us find breaking news, we use it break our own exclusive
stories, inform readers of changing news coverage by the second and it also
allows us to engage in conversation and debate with readers about issues
affecting them,” she commented. The ability to interact with the readers is
ultimately enhanced by social media as it “creates a bridge between journalist
and audience,” she said.
Like many
others, Shoba’s core belief is that journalism needs to remain credible and
fair before anything else. Without such foundations true journalism looses its
quality and weight. “Regardless of daily pressures to be first with the story,
journalism cannot sacrifice truth and integrity,” she said.
Moving into
the future Shoba believes that the landscape must further embrace social media.
Along with all its limitations and negatives it has an overwhelmingly positive
influence. The enormity of this transition dawned on Shoba as she commented; “Journalism's
survival depends on making a successful shift to digital media. It's a
fast-paced environment where each day is different and stories change minute by
minute, it's exciting to be a part of where the future of journalism is going”.
The Freelancer (Petra Starke – Freelance Journalist)
A career that
ironically enough started in the same year that Facebook was born Petra in no
way could have imagined the vast impact this social media juggernaut would have
on the industry. For the past 10 years the Freelancer
was not in fact a freelancer at all. She previously worked as Arts Editor for
The Advertiser but left that position in November of last year. “Since then I
have been working freelance, as a journalist writing for various publications
around Australia,” she commented.
The last three
years had brought about the biggest changes. “As newspaper sales and
advertising revenues fell,” she remembered, many new publications began to
launch online. Social media had brought about a change to the media landscape.
It had altered “the way many journalists work - sourcing quotes, following
leads, investigating, making contacts,” she said.
Petra quickly
realised the growing influence and importance of social media and began using
Twitter to enhance her “personal brand”. It dawned on her just how crucial new
media could be and the potential it had to change the way journalism works.
“I think the
biggest advantage, particularly with Twitter, is being able to directly engage
with people - whether that's sources for stories, other journalists or your own
readers,” she said. Twitter and Facebook play a big role in how news
organisations interact with their readers. “Spreading information quickly and easily
is a plus,” she added.
However, Petra
is aware of the many pitfalls that come with social media and an over reliance
on it and other new media. If something goes viral or has been spread on a
massive scale “there's a temptation to just go with it to get in there and not
miss out, rather than fact check it first - a big mistake for fair and accurate
reporting,” she stated.
What lies next
for journalism is something that Petra is unaware of but not phased by. Whilst
its current benefits and influence are becoming clearer the future is anything
but. The Freelancer believes “It's
extremely important now, but how it continues to integrate with traditional
media depends on how it evolves. Who knows what the social media channels of
the future are going to look like and how they will operate? Who knows how much
longer newspapers will be around in paper form? What will the next generation
of media look like? All exciting stuff.”
Something to leave you on
The simple
fact that Journalism is evolving was evident to each of the three media
professionals. Whilst the negatives are there for all to see something they all
agreed upon was the need for journalism to smoothly transition into the digital
world. Even more so than what it currently is. Ultimately a major journalist
goal and intention is to provide the audience with information founded in key
journalistic principles. Social media enhances this ability and provides
another avenue for this to occur. In order for prosperity to continue the
general belief was that new media must further be embraced. Technology has brought
with it a raft of changes and the landscape has shifted. As Eve said, “It’s a
broad brush and a big challenge, but we are making strong strides”.