This presentation covers the impact of the internet and social media on journalism, from newsgathering to distribution to consumption. Presented to Tufts University class on "Social Media: Participatory Culture and Content Creation in Society."

1. SOCIAL MEDIA AND JOURNALISM
I stole ‘curated’ this
image
Ben Rubenstein

2. OVERVIEW
•
The role of journalism – why is it so important?
•
How social media has changed the game
• Newsgathering
• Distribution
• Consumption
•
Threats and opportunities

3. WHAT IS JOURNALISM, ANYWAY?
• Traditional ethics of journalism:
• Accuracy
• Proportionality/Fairness
• Transparency
• Independence
“Society doesn’t
need
newspapers.
What we need is
journalism.” –
Clay Shirky

4. WHAT DO JOURNALISTS (AND INSTITUTIONS)
REALLY PROVIDE?
• Credibility/Authority
• Access
• Tough questions (speak truth to power)
• Money (for investigations)
“In journalism,
real authority
starts with
reporting. … ‘I’m
there, you’re not,
let me tell you
about it.’ ”
- Jay Rosen

5. HOW DID WE GET HERE?
 Advertising revenue decline (Craigslist)
 Free access to news via online sources
 Democratization of publishing
 Business responses:
 Paywalls – hard, metered, social, Bitcoin
 NYTimes, Chicago Sun-Times, WSJ, Financial Times
 “Evergreen” content
 Archives, images
 Custom publishing
 Pro Publica
 Rebundling
 NYTimes + Spotify, print + online bundles, aggregation
 Subscriptions
 Andrew Sullivan

6. DEMOCRATIZATION OF NEWSGATHERING
 Social media offers a direct channel to the public
 Twitter conversations
 Anonymous tips
 Increased transparency – ask questions while producing a story

7. NEWSGATHERING RESOURCES HAVE EXPANDED
•
More exposure for trends
• What the public is interested in
• What people are sharing and talking about

8. HOW DO THE SOCIAL COMPANIES SPIN THE STORY?

9. BREAKING: JOURNALISTS NO LONGER CONTROL THE
PLATFORM
 Social distribution is key for getting eyeballs

10. THE END OF BIG
•
Traditional news organizations are being scooped by:
• Blogs and citizen journalists (“Sources go direct”)
• Amateur bystanders – stories flow up instead of down
• Their own staff

11. NEW-ISH ROLE: SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR
•
Provide tools to help journalists do their
jobs better
•
Optimize content and distribution for new
channels
•
Curate content

12. SPEED AND STYLE TRUMP EVERYTHING ELSE
•
Tweet first, confirm later
•
The goal is to stand out, get noticed:
• Sharable, Upworthy-style headlines
• Striking images
• Correct timing of posts

13. ORIGINALITY IS SECONDARY
•
Existing content can be ‘curated’ and redistributed
•
Aggregation or stealing?
•
Social stories often get their start from traditional
media

14. CONTROLLING CURATION

15. THE RISE OF THE PROSUMER
 The audience can now comment immediately and insert themselves into the story

16. THE RISE OF THE PROSUMER
 The audience can now comment immediately and insert themselves into the story
Is this a good thing?

17. ALL NEWS IS SOCIAL NOW – SOME OLD, SOME NEW

18. NICHE COMMUNITIES
•
Mainstream doesn’t cover it? No problem!

19. THE FILTER BUBBLE
Was it ever really different?

20. RESPONSIBILITY OF JOURNALISTS IN SOCIAL MEDIA
•
Confirm before tweeting?
•
Not falling for hoaxes
•
Give credit where credit is due
•
Thoroughness
“Digital first resets the
journalistic
relationship with the
community, making the
news organization less
a producer and more
an open platform for
the public to share
what it knows. It is to
that process that the
journalist adds value.”
– Jeff Jarvis

21. SOCIAL JOURNALISM BENEFITS
•
Info can be disseminated much more quickly
•
More promotion and exposure for quality content
•
More diversity of opinions
•
Improved research and tips
•
Improved transparency
•
Opportunity to build strong personal brands

22. SOCIAL JOURNALISM DRAWBACKS
•
“Not enough and too much information”
• False information spreads quickly
• Exposure breeds cheap
content/content farms
• Too much faith in the public

23. NEWS DISTRIBUTION: 1963
•
How were people getting the information?
•
What was the timeline of information getting out?
•
What were the reactions among the public? How do you know?

24. NEWS DISTRIBUTION: 2013
 How were people getting the information? How many sources?
 What was the timeline of the information getting out?
 What was the reaction? How do you know?

25. BOSTON MARATHON BOMBINGS:
CONSPIRACY COMES QUICKLY

26. BOSTON MARATHON BOMBINGS:
CITIZEN JOURNALISM IN ACTION

27. TAKEAWAYS
 Just as important for news orgs to be reporting via social media as on their own platforms
 Citizens are now a vital part of the news process
 Multiple videos/sources instead of just one
 Much more info, but no filter

28. THANK YOU
• http://www.benrubenstein.net
• linkedin.com/benrubenstein
• @ben_rubenstein