Journalism and Social Media

Practitioners, Organisations and Institutions

verfasst von: Diana Bossio

Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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Über dieses Buch

This book offers a comprehensive investigation of the ways in which social media has affected change to the constitution of mainstream journalism. The volume does this in a unique way – by tracing the links between the different changes social media has brought to individual journalism practice, organisational processes and policies and institutional understandings of journalism. The role of social media platforms in the changing professional landscape of journalism is explored, both in terms of the changes that social media platforms have impacted on journalism, but also the way in which journalistic use of social media has impacted on particular uses of these platforms. Therefore, Journalism and Social Media is not simply a description of changed journalistic practices, but endeavours to encapsulate a complex and integrated techno-social relationship, incorporating both the individual practices of journalists, as well as the larger organisational and institutional changes that have occurred due to the increasing use of social media to investigate, present and disseminate news.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Journalism and Social Media: An Introduction

Abstract

In ‘Journalism and Social Media: An Introduction’ (Chap. 1), Bossio outlines some of the interlinked changes that use of social media has brought to journalism, focussing on its impacts on individual journalists’ practice, as well as on organisational processes, and the wider institutional understanding of journalism as a profession. Bossio argues that the impact of social media on journalism can be seen through the complex and interconnected relations, practices and professional boundaries that both innovate and delimit the ways social media can be used in a news context.

Diana Bossio

Chapter 2. Social Media and Journalism Practice

Abstract

‘Social Media and Journalism Practice’ explores how traditional journalism practice is being disrupted by social media cultures of communication. Bossio argues that norms of journalism practice have transitioned in response to the social and technological affordances enabled by increasing use of social media. The chapter analyses specific moments of transition in some traditional norms of journalistic practice, including maintaining objectivity in reportage, using processes of verification, and finally, asserting professional autonomy over individual work practice. These transitions have enabled new forms of journalistic practice that are increasingly collaborative, and prioritise authentic and transparent processes of presenting the news.

Diana Bossio

Chapter 3. Journalism and Social Media Audiences

Abstract

This chapter explores the traditional ‘recipients’ of journalism—the news media audience. This chapter focusses on the apparent empowerment of audiences on social media and the dominance of their preferences in the creation and consumption of news. Bossio argues that the empowerment of social media audiences has created new social roles and ‘rules of engagement’ in participatory forms of social media communication. This chapter uses a case study of the Egyptian Arab Spring to chart these changes, illustrating how the news audience has changed and, secondly, contextualising the new audience–journalist relationship using journalism norms of professional practice.

Diana Bossio

Chapter 4. Social Media and the Newsroom: New Relationships, New Policies, New Practices

Abstract

This chapter offers a much-needed organisational perspective on the introduction of social media to journalism practice. While most organisational research about journalism has focussed on the economics of news, Bossio instead analyses the new relationships in the newsroom that have managed workplace change and how these have provided both opportunities and limitations to journalism practice. The chapter uses a comparative case study of the introduction of online and social media production at The Age newspaper in Melbourne to illustrate the relationships between management and editorial staff and how they contributed to the success of new technologies in the newsroom.

Diana Bossio

Chapter 5. Big Data, Algorithms and the Metrics of Social Media News

Abstract

In ‘Big Data, Algorithms and the Metrics of Social Media News’ (Chapter 5), Bossio illustrates that while news organisations are increasingly pushing content out through a number of social media platforms to improve the number of views of news content, they are also competing with other stakeholders hoping to influence the way news discourses are represented. Using a media analysis of the Brexit vote as a case study, Bossio argues that the new challenge for professional journalism is the increasingly savvy manipulation by other political stakeholders of social media algorithms, especially those that focus on prioritisation and filtering of news to influence audience consumption habits.

Diana Bossio

Chapter 6. Shifting Values, New Norms: Social Media and the Changing Profession of Journalism

Abstract

Shifting Values, New Norms: Social Media and the Changing Profession of Journalism (This Chapter) explores how journalists are balancing individual, organisational and professional norms while transitioning journalistic professional activity into social media environments. Practices that conform to social media policies, as well as new relationships in the newsroom, were seen to create both opportunities and tensions in utilising social media for journalism. What many of these changes amount to, however, is a fundamental shift in the way professional journalism is understood and, subsequently, a steady erosion of the professional authority maintained by journalists. This chapter focusses on the ways journalists represent professional identity on popular social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Bossio argues that the ways journalists present their personal and professional identities on social media corresponds to some of the complex professional and organisational influences they are attempting to balance.

Diana Bossio

Chapter 7. News in Social Media Environments: Journalism in a ‘Post-Truth’ World

Abstract

‘News in Social Media Environments: Journalism in a “Post-Truth” World’ (this chapter) broadens discussion of journalism to its product—news and its distribution. In this chapter, Bossio argues that new modes of producing news and new business models for distributing news have resulted in the decentralisation of the journalist from the communication of news. There are now more stakeholders in the selection and distribution of news and, thus, continual negotiation of representations of truth and the right to determine how the news is distributed to audiences. Using an analysis of Trump’s use of false statements during his 2016 election campaign, Bossio illustrates that as social media continually disrupts traditional modes of producing and distributing news, governance over ‘truth’ as central to communication is also being renegotiated by new stakeholders in the news.

Diana Bossio

Chapter 8. Conclusion: Where to from Here for Professional Journalism?

Abstract

In the concluding chapter of this book, ‘Where To From Here for Professional Journalism?’ (Chapter 8), Bossio turns to the future of journalism in a post-truth world. Reflecting on all the changes that use of social media has brought to individual journalism practice, organisations and the institutional knowledge that characterises journalism’s social role, Bossio suggests social media has contributed to the changing constitution of journalism through the creation of new cultures of communication, where the roles of participants and the rules of engagement are still being negotiated. The future of journalism therefore depends on how journalists negotiate the various organisational, political, social and cultural influences that seek to structure, regulate and influence the ways news is produced and understood.

Diana Bossio

Backmatter

Titel: Journalism and Social Media
verfasst von: Diana Bossio
Verlag: Springer International Publishing
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-65472-0
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-65471-3
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65472-0