The media is an important source of information about the world at large and a powerful mean of shaping our attitudes and beliefs. Because the media is a principle source of our understanding of the world, it is therefore important for us as upcoming journalists to utilise all means of media to inform the general public. New media (social media and blogs) are having an impact on many aspects of reporting, particularly the speed and availability of news. Reporting has always in some ways been a collaborative process between journalists and their sources. But increasingly, there’s a merger between the source and the content producer.
As a result, more journalism will happen through collaborative reporting, where the witness of the news becomes the reporter. A journalist’s future beat of coverage and Rolodex of contacts will, and in many cases already does, include the social web. It’s becoming the center of where readers are pointed to news and perhaps more notably where the community shares or creates their own news. Social networks such as twitter can be a great place to find breaking news that ranges from the most global of issues (i.e. tsunami in Japan 2011) to more hyper local (such as UFS students striking against the reitz video).
Another helpful elements of social networks for journalists is that one has 140 char text limit which forces you to get straight to the point and also helps one to practise writing heads + sells. New media also allows one to be able to professionally and responsibly curate events in real time in context and even commentary in a way that helps the audience understand what is happening. Most importantly, these social tools are inspiring readers to become citizen journalists by enabling them to easily publish and share information on a greater scale. As future journalist we will be more embedded with the community than ever.
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