Has Journalism Really Changed For The Better?
It is no surprise that social media has made a large impact on journalism and how the public recieves information. Many argue that journalism has benefited from social media’s impact, but many also stand on the other side. Who is right and who is wrong? With social media’s presence, we know learn about headlines much quicker than before, we also have access to news all around the country whenever we want. More and more journalists are writing personal blogs where they are also reporting newsworthy topics. But even if we dont look at journalists, what about bloggers? influencers? celebrities? Because of social media everyone has a platform and everyone can be a journalist in their own right. Because of this, has journalism really changed for the better?
According to this graph from the Pew Research Center, “18% of adults say they get their political news primarily through social media.
Imagine telling someone 20 years ago that 1 in 5 adults turned strictly to Instagram, Facebook, etc. for their political headlines rather than news stations and newspapers.
According to the below article by Chatter Blast, the 3 ways social media has changed journalism in the last 10 years are:
- It’s faster
- More clicks
- It’s personal
The below two graphs speak for themselves.
Many individuals feel strongly about social media’s impact on journalism and are very vocal about it.
As you can see, people are all over the place on this topic. Some are for it, others are fighting against it.
It is interesting to watch this video Freedom Forum posted on YouTube in 2013, 8 years ago, and see what they said then verse what has happened now.
Here’s another interesting take, The Atlantic posted this video in 2014!
The above link shows how Sprout is guiding individuals to use social media for journalism needs. They are sharing tips and strategies on how to reach larger audiences and how to use each platform for its best use.
In conclusion, we can all say that social media has had a LARGE impact on journalism. Whether you feel that it has helped journalism or it has taken away from it, that is still something most individuals are trying to figure out.
