Social Media and Journalism

Following what many people and the media described as an 'inland tsunami' that tore through townships in central QLD, a large number of community members were classified as missing, which sent the locals into a frenzy to locate their friends and family. Several family members of the missing posted photographs in hope of the public knowing the whereabouts of these individuals and helped find people who were believed to have drowned, but actually survived (ibid). Their stories can be read in the book The Torrent that came out in January this year, if you were interested. 

Week 8's topic saw us looking at social media in relation to journalism and how the rise in public opinion on disseminating platforms hinders media literacy amongst audiences.

The Torrent.
Source: https://cdn2.penguin.com.au

Although the apparent lack of credibility users face when sourcing news from social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, journalists will still 'publish first, correct if necessary' (ING, 2014) as part of their order of the day.  According to Posetti, a large proportion journalists feel less bound by journalists rules on social media and these social media platforms are 'transforming professional norms and values' (2013).

While this may seem a double-edged sword of not-complying with journalism's rules regarding the shortfall of fact checking by journalists and delivering the public with potentially untrue articles, an article on The Conversation's website dictate how social media is in fact helping journalists uncover hidden stories.  According to Gearing, 'social media has revolutionised how we communicate' and noted the devastating 2011 floods in the Lockyer Valley QLD as a prime example (2016).

This is an example of social media contributing positively to reporting and how just one post can make it possible to further investigate happenings and events taking place with immediacy with events like the 2011 QLD Floods where time is of the essences.

Another beneficial aspect of partnering social media with journalism is the ability to engage with audience on such a HUUUGEE scale - literally internationally.  Social media is a breeding ground for breaking news and conversations and the ability to report on these events before dissemination to the network society we live in is vital for any journalist operating in this information age. Here's an article on audience engagement on social media and how to slay social media.

Again, perhaps an effort in combatting all can all lead back to a term mentioned previously in this post and in posts before; media literacy. This way, users can identify false or fabricated from accurate, reliable and fact-checked information.


References
Gearing (2016). How social media is helping Australian journalists uncover stories hidden in plain sight. [online] The Conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/how-social-media-is-helping-australian-journalists-uncover-stories-hidden-in-plain-sight-65794 [Accessed 9 Oct. 2017].