role of social media in news organisations

rearview

• typewriters out

• computers came in

• newspaper cuttings libraries reduced

• internet opened access to information;

• mobile phones and messaging as transmitters

• satellite technology to feed material – not tape played on planes

Kevin Bakhurst – Deputy Head of Newsroom (BBC)

powered by these changes, news has become 24 hours a day; immediate; available on new

platforms; mobile

social media landscape

closer to home

Fiji situation

social media and news

big news organisations are plunging into the world of

social media

merging of mediums

appeals of social media

• extraordinary newsgathering potential;

• potential as a new tool to engage the audience - interactive;

• great way to distribute news

• platform for content

• how facebook changed the world documentary ? – produced by BBC

new dimensions in storytelling

• the Japan tsunami

• the Arab Spring

• the Burma uprisings

• the Norway shootings

• riots in England

social media appeal to news

social media shares three key, highly valuable roles in journalism

• newsgathering

• audience engagement

• a platform for our content

so what then

• Increasingly – there are calls for social media editors

• Driven by BBC, CNN and AlJazeera

• Not yet in the Pacific

• Happening in Australia & NZ

social media editor

• the social media editor is a journalist - first and foremost

• particular focus on using live-blogging and social platforms.

• social media editor helps other reporters get better acquainted with using social media as a tool to monitor, verify and deliver news.

codes of journalism honour

• Privacy

where are the boundaries?

are there any areas off limits?

can we all discuss pregnancies, affairs, ethics, finances, abilities, families?

there's no real protection for what, until now, has been largely personal or private.

• Anonymity

people join debates or discussions or sometimes accusing, or attacking – without a name or a face

no personal responsibility for the impact or truth or validity of what they publicly say.

• coverage or stories with an invisible opponent.

• Ethics

Journalist and their news organisations within an ethical frameworks

“we won't report the death of a loved one until the family know;

we won't just steal material from others;

we try to establish facts before pushing a story out there”

• The Rule of Law

journalists work within the rules of law; avoiding libel; or contempt of court; or revealing the names of young victims or juveniles accused of crimes. Some social media users do many of these things..

interesting revelations

“And still the home of our biggest audiences by a country mile is TV News with the BBC News Channel's average weekly audience up 50% in the last year, and the BBC1 TV bulletins reaching 17.5 million viewers in a

week. Social media has strong growth and huge potential - it's a great tool for our journalism, as we've seen, but for

the BBC, still draws relatively small numbers. I would say a "small" but highly engaged, dedicated and vociferous part of our audience.”

conclusion

• In the sea of many voices and stories of claims and general noise, we know there remains an appetite for a journalism that is based on the values that news audiences of "traditional" media value highly.

• These values can be used by social media editors and citizens journalists on social media platforms.

traditional media values

• fairness

• balance

• truth

• accuracy

• integrity

• verification

• Independence

• speed.

lessons we can use

• Professional journalists are encouraged to engage in social media and to account for their views and values always.

• But often they find themselves engaged in a wholly uneven discussion