SOCIALLY SOURCED
SOCIAL MEDIA has been universally available for more than 10 years. It has meant easy access to a huge range of news sources, many of them springing up well apart from traditional media. Inevitably, quality has suffered, nowhere more than in authenticity and accuracy. Shoddy journalism has abounded. It has also led to false, or ‘fake’, news and public mistrust.
Not only public mistrust, but distinct unease among the professional news gatherers and disseminators – editors, producers, staff journalists and freelancers.
According to a recent Mynewsdesk survey, the scribes are complaining that today’s expanded news sector is unreliable and failing to produce quality work.
Many feel that fake news is a cause for concern for which there are no easy solutions, but a majority are satisfied that traditional news areas are relatively blame-free. Over 90% of journalists have said that fake news is a problem.
CONSOLIDATION
Fuelling the fake news fire, according to Mynewsdesk, is the consolidation of power within the largest social media networks. Organisations such as Facebook and Twitter have become primary channels used by people to consume news, around the world. These platforms hold tremendous sway because they can propagate ideas as well as suppress them.
For many, news comes from online family and friends: no longer curated by journalists, but by Facebook algorithms. A result, it could be argued, is that people are only exposed to ideas that come from their own peer groups and conform to their opinions. Of the journalists surveyed, almost three-quarters believe Facebook has too much power.
Journalists are less concerned about Google and YouTube, but still regard them as a threat to the production of what is regarded as genuine news.
Tolerating the digital challengers or not, however, ever-tighter budgets mean that social media sources have to be raided to obtain stories. It is unavoidable. This is particularly true for younger practitioners.
PRESS RELEASES
Established writers’ own networks are still the most effective places to gather up ideas. Then, the good old press release holds second place as a trusted source of information. A majority of journalists appreciate the importance of maintaining ongoing relationships with PR professionals, both in-house and agency.
No matter: it has to be accepted that the audience for news has shifted ground, for good or ill, and traditionalists have to follow them, or their real news will end up unheeded.
There can be no more creative snobbery. Nowadays, the business has to be about far more than sending out messages. It demands conversation, using communications tools to encourage people to share in stories. It’s about being conversation leaders rather than content producers.
Traditional news, however, is not going to disappear. It will continue to evolve – thereby causing social platforms to clean up their information acts, making the news arena more constructive and competitive.
Return to MARKETING INSIGHT BLOGS or go to CONTACT DETAILS
