Uneasy Relationships: Journalists, Social Media and the Implication for News.

Abstract

The rise of social media and its prominence during the “Arab Spring” has radically changed the relationship between journalism and the public. Foreign correspondents are no longer the sole source of news; raw emotional images are being uploaded to screens without the filter of the news desk; armed with the little more than a mobile phone, members of the public have increasing power. This array of digital media is rapidly blurring traditional boundaries, fact and fiction, objectivity and subjectivity, professional and amateur. And yet mainstream news organizations show little sign of abandoning normative values based around objectivity and an ideal of rational discourse; in fact some appear to be fighting a rearguard action, attempting to colonize social media within their existing newsroom structures. But is it not time to recognize that the blurring of formats has made the journalistic norms look anachronistic? And is it not time to consider new practices which would allow a better appreciation of the often highly emotional forces attached to news reporting across today’s multiplicity of formats? Concentrating on the coverage of international news, this chapter will explore the uneasy relationship between journalism and social media and its implications for the practice of news reporting in the digital era.