The Role of News on Social Media
Evan Conti
In our society today, social media plays an important impact on the way people gain instant access to news. Networks such as Facebook and Twitter play an important role in spreading news to their users. Users on these media sites are able to view a variety of topics, interests and information daily.
The Pew Research Center declared Facebook as the largest media platform, with 64% of its users being adults. They found that out of the 64% of adult users, half of them use Facebook as their first news source, which is equivalent to 30% of the adult population. This statistic shows that most U.S adults do not go to Facebook as their news source. However, Facebook has provided people with a way to be exposed to news unintentionally. One respondent stated that “If it wasn’t for Facebook news, I’d probably never really know what’s going on in the world because I don’t have time to keep up with the news on a bunch of different locations.” This statement holds true for many of Facebook’s users and proves what an impact it has on spreading the news on their site.
Facebook has also exposed its users to news of a wide variety of topics, and displays at least 49% of its users to see stories of at least six different topic areas daily. Facebook users can see anything from posts of people and events in their community to reading about what is happening within the national government. They also have the ability to read about sports, entertainment, the weather or crimes. Research shows that entertainment has the highest views on Facebook while the least frequent stories are about business, science and technology, international issues, the local weather and traffic.
In addition, The Pew Research Center found that the biggest reason why users click on links about news stories is due to their interest in the topic. Facebook users are also able to “like” or comment on stories which allows the story to be spread onto more newsfeeds. Research found that seven out of ten users on Facebook click on links because they found an interest in the topic. Other reasons why users click on news stories are due to funny, entertaining or surprising titles.
Although Facebook has the ability to expose its users to news, Twitter is known as the biggest breaking news outlet in the 21st century. The use of this social media gives users up to the minute reactions on all aspects of the news. It has taken over media coverage of breaking news and helped many celebrities, athletes and politicians bypass the media to get their message directly to their audience. Twitter has become the fastest and most convenient way to make a story go viral. The use of hashtags and retweets gets topics trending and allows users to connect to information quickly and easily. Ross Dawson, an author and communications strategy analyst, stated “Twitter is extending our senses to tens of millions of people who are often right on the scene where things are happening.” On Twitter, groups of people come together around news events they feel passionately about. But opinions expressed on Twitter often differ from broad public opinion. In the days following the shootings in Newton, Conn., in 2012, nearly two-thirds of the statements on Twitter called for stricter gun control measures while public opinion was far more evenly split.
In conclusion, researchers have found that Twitter has a larger effect on allowing users to gain access to information more than Facebook. However, both social media sites play a major role in allowing their users to find out about local and national news. With the rising increase of technology at our fingertips, many people rely on social media to find out what is going on in the world.
Works Cited
Mitchell, Amy. Page, Dana. “The Role of News on Facebook.” Pew Research Center. 24 Oct. 2013. Web.
Mitchell, Amy. Page, Dana. “Twitter News Consumers.” Pew Research Center. 4 Nov. 2013. Web.
Mitchell, Amy. “The State of the News Media 2014." Pew Research Journalism Project. 26 March 2014. Web.
Coyle, Jake, and Associated Press. "Is Twitter the News Outlet for the 21st Century?" ABC News. ABC News Network, Jan. 2015. Web. 14 Feb. 2015.
Evan, you have made several valid points that I would defiantly agree with, when it comes to social media playing a huge role in users accessing the news. For me, social media has made it much more convenient to get all the top stories. For example, I frequently go on Facebook and check my newsfeed to see if there are any new topics shared by websites such as, the Huffington Post or Elite Daily. Those websites have created a type of news source that is easy to read, short, and to the point. In my opinion, with the rise of these websites, and others such as Buzzfeed, more people are using these types of sites to get their news from, and share it with there friends. According to the article, Who Cares If Buzzfeed Has More Social Shares Than the New York Times, the author states,” Buzzfeed has an average of 7,950 shares per article, and if you discount the outliers, the median is 966. For the Times, those numbers are only 829 and 11, respectively. In Ingram’s mind, that means the Times has a lot of catching up to do.” (David) As you can see, it is evident that social media users rather share their articles to other users, than share it from the new paper company, The New York Times.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your idea on how Twitter is one of the most successful social media platforms, to receive access of your news from. Although, I am not an active Twitter user, from time to time I do use it. I think that is a great way to get the most updated new stories, and breaking news, the quickest way possible. Twitter does make it easy to connect to users quickly and efficiently, especially when there is a special event going on, such a Grammy Awards or an important news story such as, The Boston Bombing. I think that one of the main reasons that twitter is more successful than Facebook when accessing news, is because of our worlds connection with cellphones. According to the article, Twitter News Consumers, Young Mobile and Educated, the author states, “Mobile devices are a key point of access for these Twitter news consumers. The vast majority, 85%, get news (of any kind) at least sometimes on mobile devices. That outpaces Facebook news consumers by 20 percentage points; 64% of Facebook news consumers use mobile devices for news. The same is true of 40% of all U.S. adults overall, according to the survey.” (Amy) I could defiantly see why this statistic is true, because our phones allow us to do almost anything we need, such as emailing, taking pictures, and reading the news.
Overall, I really enjoyed your blog post on social media and the news, and think that you did a great job proving how much of an impact it has on us, today.
Holmes, David. "Who Cares If Buzzfeed Has More Social Shares than the New York Times?" PandoDaily. 15 Feb 2015. Web.
Mitchell, Amy. Page, Dana. “Twitter News Consumers.” Pew Research Center. 4 Nov. 2013. Web.
After reading this I was not surprised at all that most people get their news from social media. I know I personally get my news from my Facebook and Twitter accounts. Even if I’m not directly looking for news it is always in my newsfeed. I will just be scrolling through and because I follow some news sites, their stories are always coming up. As talked about in the Pew Research study in The Role of News on Facebook, I find myself clicking on the stories on Facebook that have attention drawing titles or pictures. These peak my interest the most so I am more likely to want to read the news story that gets my attention. I also tend to click on those stories that I am seeing all over Facebook and Twitter. If it is trending and everyone on my newsfeeds are talking about it, then I am probably going to click on the story that the new site has posted.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to read though that almost half of adults on social media sites, get their news from these sites. I would have thought because they are an older generation that didn’t grow up with social media in their lives constantly, that they would use more conventional means of getting their news. I would have thought that because they grew up with things like newspapers or watching the news on their televisions that they would still rely on these methods of getting their news. It does make sense in a way now since the trends are that more adults are on Facebook than ever before.
I was also surprised that Twitter was the number one site for news on social media. If people are just posting about it then they can’t put something that is very lengthy if they want to be able to talk about the story. I would have thought Facebook would have been higher just because there are no limits. There is also the trending section on the right side of Facebook. This could have been their attempt to draw more people to their site for popular news stories. People can click on that side bar and see what stories people are talking about the most. But at the same time, Twitter allows you to use hashtags about the story making it so that you can reach more people at a time. This can be more convenient for those looking to get quick information and an abundance of it. All they would have to do is search for a hashtag relating to the story or even just the story itself and they can get information about it and see other people’s reactions to the event.
When looking at other sites that people use to get their news, I was very surprised that sites like Instagram and Pinterest even made the list. According to Katerina Eva Matsa and Amy Mitchell, "Half of Facebook and Twitter users get news on those sites as do 62% of reddit users. But only a minority of those on Instagram or Pinterest finds news there.” These sites do not seem like they would attract anybody with news stories. Because they are picture based it would be hard to have stories. I feel that the most anybody would be able to do is post pictures of the event or themselves in a picture with a caption reaction to the news.
Matsa, Katerina Eva. Mitchell, Amy. “8 Key Takeaways About Social Media and News.” Pew Research Journalism Project. March 26, 2014
Mitchell, Amy. Page, Dana. “The Role of News on Facebook.” Pew Research Center. 24 Oct. 2013. Web.
Great post Evan! When first started brainstorming about the topic of how most people get their news now. I didn’t factor in that social media websites were responsible for so much of getting the message across. I see that there is both good and bad in this. Social media websites have found yet another industry to aggregate into their domination; and that industry is news. For so many years newspapers and television is how everybody would stay in touch with the world. And in my opinion due to the Internet those too industries are just holding their heads above water. We all know they are dying and this will be killing them much faster. However in my opinion it is “out with the old and in with the new.” The Internet is a more efficient way to convey messages to people all over, it also allows for many more options to navigate with the post, such as sharing, commenting, and searching for something else very quickly.
ReplyDeleteAs I stated earlier that social media websites are just aggregators for news; I think that this causes people to be pretentious when trying to stay current. What I mean by this is that not all stories make the cut when they get on Facebook news, or a Twitter feed. These usually include breaking or popular news to surface to the attention of the public and excluding others. So it seems that this pseudo knowledge that social media news gives people is what I mean by saying it seems pretentious to me. There are so many other stories that are on news websites such as CNN, RT, FOX or VICE. Which get fewer views as a result of Facebook and Twitter posting the news now. Another side effect of having our news on social media websites is what has been given the term “slacktavism.” News equals knowledge and if you come across something that motivates you may want to be a part of that event, or movement, or protest. Sure everybody is connected now and sees a bountiful of information regularly. But when it comes to activism it is now done by trending and touchy news topics that will be forgotten in a couple of weeks.
Even though I am criticizing peoples pretentiousness when it comes to their reasons for reading the news. I do think that this is all a good thing. The efficiency and camaraderie that the Internet creates hopefully will unite us all one day and this is all just the start. Perhaps this is just growing pains of our millennial generation growing up in the digital era.
Mitchell, Amy. Page, Dana. “The Role of News on Facebook.” Pew Research Center. 24 Oct. 2013. Web.
Mitchell, Amy. Page, Dana. “Twitter News Consumers.” Pew Research Center. 4 Nov. 2013. Web.
Margaret Thompson
ReplyDeleteSocial Media, primarily Facebook and Twitter are the two platforms that I rely on for news stories. I never log on to these social sites for the purpose of reading news stories, but my Facebook Page and Twitter feed are often filled with stories because of shares or people I follow. Facebook and Twitter made news stories much more accessible in my opinion. I can log onto one platform and the hot topic news stories often are right there. Evan pointed out in his blog, users are given multiple stories, but they can click on the one or two news articles that interests them. Others agree that there is a wide range of news shared via social media platforms. The Pew Research Center analyzed the types of news stories found and saw the diversity in the stories. “Entertainment news tops the list of topics Facebook news consumers report seeing. This is followed by ‘people and events in my community’, sports, national government and politics, crime, health and medicine, and local government and politics” (Matsa 2014). Local weather/traffic, Business news, and International stories were also included on their list, but not as many users saw articles about them. Facebook news works to spread news stories by sharing/commenting. The news gets out there and circulates by the number of people who are engaged with a particular article. If people are mostly interested in Entertainment news, sports stories, or political news, it would make sense for them to be the most seen articles popping up on everyone’s page. This is what makes me question the ability Facebook has to get ALL types of news stories out to people. According to the same study by Pew 73% of people see news about entertainment, but only 39% see international news and 31% of people see business news. Facebook tends to be used as an entertaining media platform so it does not surprise me that the majority of the news people see is entertainment. That doesn’t mean Facebook doesn’t have other news stories trending…you just see less of them. This is one of the main reasons I choose Twitter as a news source. Following news Twitter handles like The New York Times or specific writers/anchors allows users to pick and choose what articles they click on based on whether the 140 character tweet interests them or not. It is the same concept as Facebook…allowing users to pick what they read, but following actual news sources and news personnel gives social media users every story on one account. It does not solely rely on comments and shares to get the news to consumers. Another side of Twitter that Evan discussed it that it is the platform known for speed. He said it was that Twitter is the “breaking news” platform and I agree with that. In another Pew research study they talk about the three central themes on twitter. “(1) A core function of Twitter is passing along pieces of information as the story Develops. (2) The Twitter conversation about big news events can shift and evolve, both in terms of sentiment and topic. (3) Although sentiment on Twitter can sometimes match that of the general population, it is not a reliable proxy for public opinion” (Mitchell 2014). I agree with those three aspects of Twitter and in some ways see how them as a downside for relying on Twitter for news. I still choose Twitter over Facebook for news because I have access to all stories, but I understand relying on Twitter means staying engaged and follow a story so I don’t miss any updates.
Works Cited:
Matsa, K., & Mitchell, A. (2014, March 26). 8 Key Takeaways about Social Media and News. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
Mitchell, A. (2014, November 4). Twitter News Consumers: Young, Mobile and Educated. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
We’ve been talking about the trend of digital takeover in the last couple of weeks and how it has affected industries like advertisement and television, so it is no surprise that the news industry is feeling the effects as well. Simply from a time-shifting viewpoint, digital news out-performing televised news is a no brainer, because news is not only incredibly time sensitive, it is also constantly developing. With so many news resources at people’s fingertips it is easier than ever to keep up with top stories and setting aside time at the end of the day for a recapped summary of the events is becoming unnecessary and inconvenient—especially to the millennials. According to an article by Pew Research Journalism Project,
ReplyDeleteDigital players have exploded onto the news scene, bringing technological knowhow and new money and luring top talent. BuzzFeed, once scoffed at for content viewed as ‘click bait,’ now has a news staff of 170, including top names like Pulitzer Prize-winner Mark Schoofs, and is the kind of place that ProPublica’s Paul Steiger says he would want to work at if he were young again (Mitchell).
This is relevant because not only does this show how online news sources are growing stronger, but it shows us how our generation prefers to consume their news. Evan discusses how sharing stories on social media like Facebook and Twitter are how a lot of stories get exposure and how people are choosing to consume their news media. He also says that people are more likely to click on a news story due to funny, entertaining or surprising titles. Buzzfeed has tapped into these two trends and is excelling at them. I, personally, have become a big fan of Buzzfeed for the reasons above and for someone who isn’t very informed when it comes to news, I like that I have the option of consuming it in a more laidback, tongue-in-cheek way which makes it more approachable.
We have also discussed the trend of “must-discuss TV” and I believe this is another trend that is lending itself to online news media. We are a social generation despite that people like to claim that we have lost those skills. We like to share things that interest us with our peers and we like to talk about it. This is no different when it comes to news stories that catch our eye. Furthermore, just like live tweeting your favorite shows, trending topics are a way for top news stories to be spread and to really gauge public opinion on relevant matters. In “8 Key Takeaways about Social Media and News” they say that opinions expressed on Twitter are not necessarily a very accurate representation of public opinion when they discuss Sandy Hook: “In the days following the shootings in Newton, Conn., in 2012, nearly two-thirds of the statements on Twitter called for stricter gun control measures while public opinion was far more evenly split” (Matsa & Mitchell). I would argue, however, that it is still a good way to keep up with the views of the younger generation since this is their preferred way of expressing their opinions.
I think that digital media is a trend that is steadily infiltrating all areas of media consumption and just like with anything else, the industries need to take a chapter out of the book of well-established digital companies in order to keep afloat in this sea of change.
Works Cited
Matsa, Katrina Eva and Amy Mitchell. "8 Key Takeaways About Social Media and News." Pew Research Journalism Project. 26 March 2014. Web.
Mitchell, Amy. “The State of the News Media 2014." Pew Research Journalism Project. 26 March 2014. Web.
Brittany Berg
ReplyDeleteSocial networking sites have changed the way people receive and access both national and international news. “News is defined as ‘information about events and issues that involve more than just your friends or family” (News Use 9). I agree with you, Evan, that Facebook provides news to its users unintentionally. Facebook does a great job in the way that it provides a wide variety of topics that interest different users. Similarly, Twitter provides news to its user in 160 characters about a topic that is discussed in the tweet. According to Pew Research Center, about half of these social media users access news from these sites and about 65% of U.S. adults get news from at least one or more social media platform.
I agree with Nicole Soleimani, I do not use Twitter often, but I do find it one of the most successful social media platforms for receiving news. When I do use Twitter, I follow mostly news accounts such as CNN and the New York Times. Twitter allows me to quickly update myself about what is going on in the world through a couple of sentences or even just the title and link of an article.
Furthermore, I am not one that typically stays up to date with the news, but when I do I go straight to Facebook and/ or Twitter. “While 38% of Facebook news consumers who say they follow the news all or most of the time say Facebook is an important way they get news, the figure rises to 46% among those who say they follow news some of the time, and 48% among those who follow news less often” (Role of News on Facebook 6). I believe this to be interesting because Facebook not only allows its user to access news but also allows them to access what their friends are reading or even what they are interested in. According to the chart, “Different Ages See Some Different News on Facebook, that Evan posted, Entertainment news is the most popular for all ages. Business news is the least popular for all ages. I would assume that business new would not be the least popular because many people are working for or in a business so you would think that they would want to follow that type of news, especially over news such as science and technology or international news.
I agree with Margaret Thompson, I would choose Twitter over Facebook to access any type of news. Twitter provides stories, just like Facebook does, but Twitter allows a user to follow a specific story and stay updated every minute. The only way to follow a current story each minute is by staying engaged and making sure not to miss a tweet. If you do miss a tweet, you can easily go to a specific account and read back on their tweets in order. Facebook, on the other hand, is refreshed and changes each time.
Works Cited:
Mitchell, Amy. “News Use across Social Media Platforms.” Pew Research Center. 14 Nov. 2013. Web
Mitchell, Amy. “The Role of News on Facebook: Common yet Incidental.” Pew Research Center. 24 Oct. 2013. Web.
With the continuing developments in social media and mobile technology, news is now capable of reaching more people than ever before. It is hard to escape news stories while on a social networking website. I never really realized it before reading this post but I am exposed to countless articles and various current event details each time I do a quick scroll through my social media timelines. I never specifically go to news sites for information I just happen to stumble upon stories while on social media. This explains how “half of Facebook users get news there even though they did not go there looking for it” (Mitchell). Even though this may seem like a good way for news websites to get their articles circulated and read, it can pose a problem for these sites. This problem is argued by PandoDaily, where it states, “visitors who arrive at a site via a social channel, as opposed to heading directly to a news organization’s homepage, are ‘amongst the least likely to return to your site’” (Holmes). For some, Holmes argues, this can undermine the trust readers have with these sites. Pew Research also finds that these consumers of news “have rather low levels of engagement with news sites” (Mitchell). In addition, those who are sharing a story on social media may only be sharing it because someone else that they know posted/shared it or because it had a catchy title or picture. It is not always certain that that person actually read the article because “it’s often a lot easier to convince somebody to share a story than it is to convince them to read it” (Holmes). In my opinion, this can also undermine the authority of that news site because it means people are just sharing articles out of impulse rather than for its content.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think about the types of stories and events I discover on social media, I notice that they are not from a broad range of topics. On Twitter it is usually people’s opinions about an event and on Facebook it is usually article shared that relate to college life or pop culture. This would make complete sense for me considering the types of people I am friends with on those sites. But this means I am only exposed to a limited set of news. This is another issue with news on social media, that it “narrow[s] the kinds of information Americans are exposed to” (Mitchell).
Despite the problems that social media may have on news sites, it is interesting to see how news has grown for the better. Growth has been especially important when it comes to the role of the eyewitness. “Roughly one-in-ten social network users have posted news videos they took themselves” (Mitchell). This gives consumers of that information a first hand look at news stories that they may not be able to get from a traditional news source. Thanks to social media, people are able to experience the news in unique ways. It has transformed the way we discover news and continues to be popular source for obtaining news.
Works Cited
Holmes, David. "Who Cares If Buzzfeed Has More Social Shares than the New York Times?" PandoDaily. 19 Jan. 2015. Web.
Mitchell, Amy. “The State of the News Media 2014." Pew Research Journalism Project. 26 March 2014. Web.
Given that Facebook and Twitter secondarily act as a news vehicle, it’s worth considering the pros and cons of getting and reading news on social media. For one, social media websites are great in that users are exposed to news shared by other users, news that they otherwise would not have seen if they were not browsing through their timelines and news feeds. In fact, the majority (78%) of Facebook users see news while they’re doing something else (Mitchell, Matsa); this suggests that social media sites can be useful to people who are less informed and less likely to keep up with other news organizations. In addition, news items found on social media differ in terms of topic and what kind of news they are. The majority (73%) of news items on Facebook fall under the category of entertainment news, and news about people, local events, sports, and government and politics are also frequently posted online (Mitchell, Matsa). News related to crime, health and medicine, local government and politics, weather, business, science, and technology appear less often but are still occasionally shared through Facebook (Mitchell, Matsa). Finally, social media allows for the flow of information to be much more interactive than if it were coming from a print or digital newspaper. Buzzfeed, for example, posts a variety of different quizzes and polls that let people be more engaged with what they’re reading. Also, many users share, repost, and comment on stories that their friends post online, allowing for a conversation about news to take place (Mitchell).
ReplyDeleteIn all its glory, though, social media isn’t the ideal way to get information about the world around us. In “State of the News Media 2014,” Amy Mitchell talks about Facebook users frequently “bumping” into news while they are doing other things online. While this does allow news to “reach people who might otherwise have missed it” (Mitchell), this says a lot about our desire, or lack thereof, to read and watch the news. If our preferred source of information is social media, then that means people have little knowledge about what’s happening on a local, national, or international scare and little desire to keep up with current events. Also, the news we find on social media is likely to be news items that affirm our own beliefs or are in sync with our own interests. The things we “like” on Facebook and the few news organizations we follow on social media affect what news items show up on our newsfeeds and are, more often than not, biased, meaning that us as readers are less likely to get full details of a story. And that’s only IF we follow news organizations and journalists on social media. Mitchell says, “Only about a third of people who get news on Facebook follow a news organization or individual journalist. Instead, stories get shared from friends in their networks” (Mitchell). Needless to say that the news we see on social media tends to be less credible because our friends are probably not as knowledgeable as journalists. In addition, most of the stories that are posted are entertainment news; so, realistically, social media isn’t helping users inform themselves about things that are actually important.
Mitchell, Amy. "State of the News Media 2014." Pew Research Centers Journalism Project RSS. N.p., 25 Mar. 2014. Web. 13 Feb. 2015.
Mitchell, Amy, and Katerina E. Matsa. "8 Key Takeaways about Social Media and News." Pew Research Centers Journalism Project RSS. N.p., 25 Mar. 2014. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.
Lindsay Goldstein
ReplyDeleteThere are many reasons that I believe are responsible for the increase of importance that social media plays in consuming news. Like the Pew Research Center states in their article “Twitter News Consumers,” convenience is a huge factor in the trend. As the article states, “Mobile devices are a key point of access for these Twitter news consumers. The vast majority, 85%, get news (of any kind) at least sometimes on mobile device,” (“Twitter news Consumers,” 2). Today’s society, especially younger generations, are driven by what’s easy, quick, and efficient, and scrolling through a timeline or newsfeed of tweets and posts from a variety of news outlets certainly beats visiting each website or flipping between dozens of news channel, each usually with their own unique view of the situation.
While I was surprised to learn that Twitter has a greater influence than Facebook when it comes to providing news and information to users, it makes sense when you take into account this convenience factor. “Twitter News Consumers” states that the statistic of Twitter users that use mobile devices to access news (which, according to the study outlined in the article, is 85%) is higher than that of Facebook. In fact, it “outpaces Facebook news consumers by 20 percentage points; 64% of Facebook news consumers use mobile devices for news,” (“Twitter News Consumers,” 2). Twitter’s concise, 140-character tweets are certainly a draw for browsing mobile devices for news. Furthermore, according to Katerina Eva Matsa and Amy Mitchell’s article “8 Key Takeaways about Social Media and News,” “Just 34% of Facebook news consumers ‘like’ a news organization or individual journalist, which suggests that the news they see there is coming from friends,” (1). This means that the news the user is receiving is limited to what their friends enjoy as opposed to following people and organizations that interest them on Twitter, another reason for Twitter’ popularity in the trend.
Society also wants things in an extremely timely fashion, especially when it comes to breaking news and stories that have a direct and immediate impact. This, I believe, is another reason for the trend in obtaining news through social media. Stories and important information can be tweeted or shared with the public with the click of a button, removing the lag time that comes with waiting for a newspaper or for a news channel to catch on and be able to accurately report the news.
Lindsay Goldstein, continued
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that social media has become an integral way in which news is shared today, it’s also a little worrisome that society relies so heavily on sites like Twitter and Facebook for important information for one of the same reasons the trend is so popular. While society looks for information to be shared on Twitter or Facebook immediately, news organizations, outlets and other social media users feel a pressure to report on the news extremely quickly, which can sometimes affect the quality and accuracy of the news that is given. When this happens, false information can spread like wildfire, making it difficult to make corrections or worse, difficult to trust anything that is spread on social media.
One fairly recent example of this happened with last year when actor Stephen Collins became involved with a scandal. As a result, the public was on high alert, waiting for follow-ups from the incident and the actor was constantly in the news and media. Because of the high profile situation, one tweet shared by the actor’s neighbor claiming that she heard a gunshot in Collins’ home and he attempted to commit suicide, became breaking news everywhere. In reality, the actor was not even home at the time of the incident, the house was empty, and there was no evidence of a gunshot (Hughes). This just goes to show that while social media is a great tool for obtaining news, it also can potentially dangerous to the uninformed consumer.
Works Cited:
Hughes, Jason. “Cops Dispatched to Stephen Collins’ Home After Suicide False Alarm.” TheWrap. 7 Oct. 2014. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.
Matsa, Katrina Eva and Amy Mitchell. “8 Key Takeaways About Social Media and News.” Pew Research Journalism Project. 26 March 2014. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.
“Twitter News Consumers.” Pew Research Center. 4 Nov. 2013. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.
Jake Carleton
ReplyDeleteBlog Post 3
The publications of news articles has been rapidly changing along with the advancement of technology. The way we receive these articles and share these articles with one another has been changing as well with the advancement of these technologies and the advancement of social media usage. The rise of social media has brought the capabilities of news being put out there, and shared immediately. Twitter and Facebook are vital to this sharing of stories, as followers and friends on these platforms are able to see the news stories that their “Friends” deemed worthy to share. Now it seems as though the majority of people reach their news stories through social media platforms, however an article titled 8 Keys Takeaways about Social Media and News it is stated that “visitors who come to a news site through Facebook or search display far lower engagement with that outlet than those who come to that news website directly” which is somewhat interesting because it is says that more people will go directly to a news source, rather than just stumbling across it using a social media platform. For me, this is never really the case, as I often see most news articles that interest me using Twitter more than Facebook or a direct going to of a site. News is becoming more and more easily accessible on the internet as printed media is suffering due to these technologies, and it makes sense to the current generation to just on online and get the news, rather than watch it or read a newspaper.
This can also be seen in the Pew Research Center’s study on news consumption and social media. The research shows that when it comes to “Percent of U.S. adults who get news on a social media networking site and ‘often’ get any news on a mobile device”, it shows that 38% do this on Facebook, 54% do this on Twitter, and 51% do this on LinkedIn. This shows that the trends are starting to sway more into the social media realm as opposed to traditional media sources. This will be interest to say the least when it comes to how news outlets will plan to reach their audiences in the future. Will they start to turn away from Live TV broadcasts, or newspaper placements? I believe that it will be a vital next decade for news outlets to see how much they really want to spend if they are having all of their content viewed online. I agree with your point Evan that most people utilize the Twitter platform in order to get and share news, but it could possibly just who I follow, but I feel like I see way more news articles on Facebook, and it is hard to argue with the stats that were put forth by the Pew Research Center. There is one thing that most people would agree on though, and that is that the shift to social media news sharing is becoming more prominent everyday in our media society.
Works Cited:
“News Use across Social Media Platforms.” Pew Research Center. 14 Nov. 2013. Web.
Matsa, Katrina Eva and Amy Mitchell. “8 Key Takeaways About Social Media and News.” Pew Research Journalism Project. 26 March 2014. Web.
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ReplyDeleteErika Almanzar
ReplyDeleteAs an avid social media user, I utilize my social networks on a daily basis in order to remain in touch with loved ones, discover new interests, and follow up on the latest news. As a whole, Facebook is effective in spreading messages globally, such as the organizing of protests during the Egyptian Revolution back in 2011. However, from personal experience and observations, I’ve also found Twitter to be extremely helpful in raising awareness towards major news or a cause. According to the Pew Research Center, while about 8% of Americans use Twitter for news compared to 30% of Facebook users, those who use Twitter come across as younger, more mobile, and have a higher education. With Twitter users being more tech-savvy, they tend to discover major news quicker due to using mobile devices on a constant basis. Additionally, the help of popular hash tags and trending topics allows Twitter users to spread a message and express their opinions and feelings on a forum where other users can read and tweet back on a current topic.
During breaking news as the Trayvon Martin case, social media users, including major news outlets such as CNN, MSNBC and FOX News, took to social media and updated their tweets as news developed throughout the case. After the final verdict was reached, about 39% of Twitter shared their views towards the case, generating a large online conversation, according to the Pew Research Center. While social networks such as Twitter and Facebook help in the spread of major news today, newer media sources such as BuzzFeed have also helped online users in gaining instant access to information. As one of the largest entertainment and social news websites today, BuzzFeed has grown significantly since it was founded in 2006. In terms of online shares, BuzzFeed has an average of 7, 950 shares per article, making it a large source of information for many social media users (Holmes). With constant shares on Facebook and Twitter, BuzzFeed attracts thousands of viewers each day, especially in the event of breaking news. While other online sources such as CNN and The New York Times provide detailed accounts of any event, it seems as though BuzzFeed condenses information enough for online readers to understand the main points, making it appealing among social outlets.
As Evan states throughout his post, it’s safe to believe that social media outlets are a large component of news accessibility today. While news articles are constantly shared on Facebook and hash tags generate Twitter conversation on current events, online users have the ability to know the latest information with a quick search. While it seems that Facebook and Twitter appeal to different demographics, statistics have shown how influential they are in the spread of breaking news. In terms of more recent events such as the Charlie Hebdo and Copenhagen attacks, social media sites and news media have come together in raising awareness towards public injustices. Furthermore, as social media and technology continue to grow, access to news will continue to rise and make breaking news instantaneous.
Works Cited
“Twitter News Consumers.” Pew Research Center. 4 Nov. 2013. Web.
Holmes, David. "Who Cares If Buzzfeed Has More Social Shares than the New York Times?" PandoDaily. 19 Jan. 2015. Web.
Julia Timpanaro
ReplyDeleteSocial media has transformed our everyday lives as we know it. After reading Evan’s blog and fellow peers responses, I have to say that I agree with them. In my opinion, Facebook and Twitter are major social media platforms. Since we have been introduced to these two social media platforms, we have been able to access worldwide news more effective and efficiently. Lets look at Facebook for a second, before there was Facebook there was MySpace. If you think back to when MySpace was popular, it was never really any news worthy events mentioned. In fact, MySpace was used for posting pictures and listening to music, never relating back to the worldwide news. I must say that I am guilty of not watching the news frequently, in fact I cannot remember the last time I watched the news. Many times the way I find out my news is by scrolling down my newsfeed on Facebook. Unless it affects me or if it is tragic, I tend not to waste my time reading the article. In the article, The Role of News on Facebook, written by Amy Mitchell, it says “Facebook news consumers who “like” or follow news organizations or journalists show high levels of news engagement on the site.” (Mitchell) I think that this could be a good outlet for the all the news sources because it is another way to expand their business. Something that I didn’t realize is that a big portion of Facebook users are adults. In the article, The Role of News on Facebook, there is a diagram that shows that 64% of the users are adults and only 36% of them are young adults or other.
Another good point that was brought up was how Twitter is another one of the main media platforms we use. Personally, I do not have a Twitter account but I do know and understand how much of an impact it has left on our society. As we discussed many times in class, television shows tend to be starting a new trend to get their audience to become “live”. The way networks have been going about this is by having the audience more interactive. This is where Twitter comes into play. A perfect example of this would be when you watch a show such as Mob Wives and during the commercials it will say count how many times a specific character says a curse word, then tweet #mobwives. Something else that I noticed and that we have discussed in class, is that you see this # trend more on reality television shows and live events such as The Oscars or The Super bowl. In the article, News Use across Social Media Platforms, written by Amy Mitchell, it talks about how “News plays a varying role across the social networking sites; Roughly half of both Facebook and Twitter users get news on those sites…” (Mitchell)
Overall, I agreed with everyone’s blog posts and think that social media will continue to have a major impact on our every day lives.
Works Cited
Mitchell, Amy. "News Use across Social Media Platforms." News Use across Social Media Platforms (2013): n. pag. PewResearch. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.
Mitchell, Amy. "The Role of News on Facebook." The Role of News on Facebook;Common Yet Incidental (2013): n. pag. PewResearch. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.
Brittany Joyal
ReplyDeleteEvan, you say in your post, “…social media sites play a major role in allowing their users to find out about local and national news. With the rising increase of technology at our fingertips, many people rely on social media to find out what is going on in the world”. I believe this statement embodies the effect social media has on the news concisely and accurately. Although a bold statement, I find that social media is in the process of replacing traditional journalism as the primary news source for the masses. Think about it: how many individuals in your life still have newspaper subscriptions? By this I am not talking about online subscriptions, but subscriptions for papers that come in hardcopy every Sunday (or whichever day your local paper may be distributed throughout the neighborhood). If I were a betting woman I would wager a lot that the number of subscriptions is low-and exponentially lower than years past. With timeliness being such an influential factor in the newsworthiness of a story, social media lends itself seamlessly to news distribution in allowing for constant and immediate updates frequently. As stated in an article published by the Pew Research Journalism Project,
The year (2014) also brought more evidence than ever that news is a part of the explosion of social media and mobile devices, and in a way that could offer opportunity to reach more people with news than ever before. Half of Facebook users get news there even though they did not go there looking for it. (Mitchell)
Mitchell has an important point in the abovementioned anecdote due to the fact that oftentimes I feel as though the news that individuals-especially digital natives/millenials-are aware of has been brought to their attention via timelines and newsfeeds on social media platforms. In article entitled “8 Key Takeaways about Social Media and the News”, Mitchell says, “78% of Facebook news users mostly see news when on Facebook for other reasons”. In other words, social media users are stumbling upon some of the biggest stories in the news unintentionally. With Facebook however, the stories I tend to see are more times than not solely those that are shared by my Facebook friends, or have accumulated a high number of likes or comments. This methodology makes me attune to the fact that I am not necessarily seeing all of the important news of the day-rather I am getting a look at what my friends found most interesting or what is most popular at the time. Thus, I tend to look for most of my news on Twitter; here I can follow legitimate news handles while still getting headlines in a timely and concise fashion.
Brittany Joyal cont.
ReplyDeleteBreaking news via social media is becoming somewhat of a trend. Sam Laird acknowledges some of the largest news stories that made social media headlines before traditional journalists even had the chance to disseminate the information. He states in his Mashable article, “American forces' raid on Osama Bin Laden, Whitney Houston's death, the Hudson River plane landing — these are just a few of many major news stories ordinary citizens broke on Twitter first. Professional journalists, meanwhile, use Twitter all the time to break news quickly before writing up full articles” (Laird). This new approach to news distribution is in a way giving journalistic license to anyone and everyone; allowing for every social media user to report the news.
Laird also states, “More than ever, people are using Twitter, Facebook and other social media sources to learn about what's happening in the world as traditional news outlets become increasingly less relevant to the digital generation” (Laird). Social media news has its pros and cons, but regardless this is a trend that isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.
Works Cited
Laird, Sam. "How Social Media Is Taking Over the News Industry [INFOGRAPHIC]." Mashable. N.p., 18 Apr. 2012. Web. Feb. 2015.
Matsa, Katerina Eva. Mitchell, Amy. “8 Key Takeaways About Social Media and News.” Pew Research Journalism Project. March 26, 2014
Mitchell, Amy. “The State of the News Media 2014." Pew Research Journalism Project. 26 March 2014. Web.
Evan, I really like your post about social media’s role in the news. I agree that in today’s society, media plays an important role in how people access the news. I know that personally I use Twitter, Buzzfeed, and even Snap Chat for news updates. However, this recent change in consumer access habits makes me wonder if social media is the best way to break news? And if it destroys other mediums and the ethical journalism code they try to uphold?
ReplyDeleteIt was apparent years ago that there was going to be a digital transformation of the news. Businessmen on their morning commute stopped buying newspapers and turned to tablets and online subscriptions. Now, almost every paper has an online presence. But I believe there is another transformation happening. A social transformation – where the content of the news we read is now in the power of the consumers, not news organizations.
With the increase of sharing on social media, people can scroll through a catalog of news from anywhere in the world, about almost anything – business, lifestyle, celebrities etc. After they read or watch their post they share it on social media, making that same post easily accessible for all their friends and followers. In this way, we are picking and choosing our news. According to the Pew Research Center, 68% of people get their news from Facebook. This news includes a very broad topic range from 73 % of posts including entertainment news to 46% of posts containing health and medicine news(Matsa).
There also is an increase in digital citizen journalism, which gives us even more content to choose from. Twitter, Facebook, and blogs are all ways an average person can publish articles for people to read. But does this take away from traditional journalists who are allegedly objective? Do we like reading opinionated tweets like we like reading opinionated news? I think we do. We like reading things that agree with our set of beliefs. This is why Republicans tend to watch Fox and why Democrats tend to watch CNN. Once again, according to Pew Research, 47% of conservatives get their political news from Fox (Mitchell). This political polarization will only increase as we are given more options and opinionated news to choose from.
Another way the presence of news on social media is shaking things up is by making social sites such as Twitter a breaking news platform. Everything is so instantaneous that there’s no pause – no moment to fact check or second-guess. When news happens, it only takes moments before the story is up and out on Twitter. This leaves a lot of room for error. I follow news organizations such as the AP, CNN, and Fox on Twitter, who all have millions of followers. They all compete in releasing the latest and greatest news first. Often, the urgency to get a story out has potential to compromise the factuality of that story. This could lead to widespread public mistrust of news organizations. Twitter is also open to misinterpretation. Reporting something in 140 characters or less is no easy task. Brian Williams of NBC’s nightly news fabricated what he saw while reporting on Hurricane Katrina in 2003. Ever since he has been ostracized from the journalism professional world (Hod).
ReplyDelete“Brian has jeopardized the trust millions of Americans place in NBC News. His actions are inexcusable and this suspension is severe and appropriate.” - NBC News President Deborah Turness (Hod)
The presence of news on social media has definitely started a social revolution of how we gain and access news. But is this revolution one we should be for or against?
Citation
Hod, Itay. "Brian Williams Suspension: Experts on Whether or Not His Career Can Be Salvaged." TheWrap. N.p., 10 Feb. 2015. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.
Matsa, Katrina and Mitchell, Amy. “8 Key Takeaways About Social Media and News.” Pew Research Journalism Project. 26 March 2014. Web.
Mitchell, Amy, Jeffery Gottfried, and Jocelyn Kiley. "Political Polarization & Media Habits." Pew Research Centers Journalism Project RSS. N.p., 20 Oct. 2014. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.
In regards to your assessment on the effect that social media has on delivering news to consumers I completely agree. Social media has had a revolutionary effect on the way people consume news in today’s world. A strong reason that I believe social media has such a massive effect on the news industry is because of how many people log onto these various sites every day. On social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter there are always various news articles being shared or trending. This makes it hard to ignore large news stories that are being shared as an individual is just scrolling down the homepage. This makes it easier for individuals to consume news in comparison to other methods of new distribution. Most teenagers and young adults will go on social media at least once a day. There is more of a chance that they will click on news articles on any of these outlets rather than buying a newspaper or going onto a news website.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand this could show a lack of understanding and involvement for certain individuals because they are just reading the stories that are trending or popping up along their newsfeed. More engaged teenagers and young adults will usually use a certain news website or outlet if they want to be informed and know about all the current events that are taking place around them. For example in the Matsa and Mitchell article they state “Facebook and search are critical for bringing added eyeballs to individual stories, but people who come to a site directly show far higher levels of engagement and loyalty. This remains true for even the most socially oriented news sites.” (Matsa/Mitchell) This statement further supports the point that social media users definitely can get news information from their specific outlets, but it may only be about one specific event or from a specific perspective. When an individual uses a professional news outlet it shows that they are more involved and interested to find out various stories, rather than just one that was on their newsfeed. Furthermore, in Mitchell’s other study, “The Role of News on Facebook” she stated “Most U.S adults do not go on Facebook seeking news out, the nationally representative only survey of 5,173 finds.” (Mitchell) This statistic shows that the older generation that uses Facebook differ greatly from the younger generation because they do not see Facebook as a news outlet or somewhere to gain information about current events. It could just be a new fad that only can show individual news stories that are shared and trending that can be making our generation less informed.
I do agree that social media outlets are major providers for news those still to some people. As I have talked about above I think that most of the people that rely on social media for news are young adults and teenagers. The only thing that concerns me about the topic is that individuals may become less engaged in current events if they are only learning about one individual story a day rather than looking at a professional news site and seeing various articles.
Work Cited
Mitchell, Amy. Page, Dana. “The Role of News on Facebook.” Pew Research Center. 24 Oct. 2013. Web
Matsa, Katrina Eva and Amy Mitchell. "8 Key Takeaways About Social Media and News." Pew Research Journalism Project. 26 March 2014. Web
Tyler Speed
ReplyDeleteEvan, I really enjoyed reading your post about social media and the way that it is revolutionizing the way we get our news. I think that there are many things that can be said for how many people view social media as their primary news outlet. It seems to me that as millennia’s have grown up with this technology we no longer have the dependency on traditional news outlets to find out what is going on in the world. The reason that I think this is happening is because our generation is overly obsessed with getting things immediately. Social media provides an outlet for people to post about something in real-time as an event or issue is unfolding. If you look at the Boston Marathon Bombings for example, I noticed that everyone around me was not turning on their televisions to hear about what was going on, but in fact everyone around me was going straight to their phones and going on Twitter and Facebook to see if anybody had any new information.
It is tough for me to wrap my head around this growing trend because I do believe that traditional news outlets have a huge role in our society. I think that in order for these traditional news outlets to continue to gain audiences and attention they are going to have to switch tactics and utilize the different social media platforms that are available to them. I myself have found that I more and more go onto CNN’s twitter feed to see what news is breaking in the world. I actually don’t think I am alone in this either as stated in the Pew Research Center article on News Use Across Social Media Platforms, “Roughly half of both Facebook and Twitter users get news on those sites, earlier reports have shown”(Mitchell 2013). This means that sites, that were created primarily to help people connect with one another and boost social communications, are actually being used by more than half of all users as news platforms.
Since social media has become such a big part of providing news, I think it is important to play devil’s advocate and ask; Even though we are getting news faster is it in fact truthful and accurate, or are there more misreported stories now than ever? In my opinion, I think that social media has almost hurt the reliability of true journalism because now I simply can’t just read one thing from one site and believe it to be true. Now, I actually have to read something then go verify it either by looking at other postings on social media or by going directly to the news outlet’s website itself. The reason why I think this is happening is because of our dependency on the immediacy of the news. News stations and other handle’s that are generally reliable sources for news have been caught trying to please the overly anxious audience who needs to know what is happening then and now. Due to this problem, news and media outlets have gone to social media and posted stories whether they were true or not because in their minds they are better off getting the news to the audience as soon as it breaks regardless of the truthfulness. They would rather do this than not post the news and fall behind other news programs and handles that decide to run with it.
Tyler Speed Cont...
ReplyDeleteAlthough it was a different situation with Brian Williams the concept held the same, he wanted to get news to the audience regardless of whether it was true or not, and he wanted to get that information to them immediately. As stated by Caitlin Dickson of Yahoo News,
“The beloved anchor’s confession — that the harrowing story he and NBC News had repeated multiple times since 2003 was not true —has prompted an investigation by the network and called Williams’ other reporting, such as his Hurricane Katrina coverage, into question. This weekend Williams, who is managing editor of the NBC Nightly News, announced that he'd be temporarily taking himself off the air”(Dickson 2015).
But is this fair to the public who is relying so heavily on these posts and this news? In my opinion it is not, but like we keep arguing in class there is nothing that we can really do about it because that is just the way our society works now.
Work Cited
Mitchell, Amy. “News Use across Social Media Platforms.” Pew Research Center. 14 Nov. 2013. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.
Dickson, Caitlin. "Brian Williams Is Not Alone: Hillary Clinton, Stephen Glass and Other Famous Fabrications." Yahoo News. 7 Feb. 2015. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.
Caroline Gaudet
ReplyDeleteEvan, I feel that you made quite a valid point in your argument regarding social media’s impact on the spread of news media. I agree with your idea that Twitter and Facebook both play a role in spreading news media to users, but they do so in different ways. I definitely think that social media is a medium through which individuals in the future will acquire a significant amount of news and the technology will continue to have a large impact on society as a whole.
In reading your blog, I was reminded of an article I read earlier in the week. The article appeared in The New Yorker and told of a game called “Last Man Running.” The point of the game, played by some 100 Americans, was to be the last person to hear about the winner of the Super Bowl (Wiedeman). The game ran on the honors system and required players to live tweet their experience using the hashtag, #LastMan (Wiedeman). I thought back to this article because it seems that at this point in our society, not only is news very easy to come by, but it’s often times impossible to avoid. This impossibility may be considered good by some and bad by others, but it definitely makes for quite the informed public. As stated by a participant in a study conducted by the Pew Research Center entitled The Role of News on Facebook, “I believe Facebook is a good way to find out news without actually looking for it” (Mitchell). Social media is keeping our public informed, whether we like it or not.
In regard to the difference between platforms, I agree that Facebook and Twitter provide news media to consumers in different ways. However, I feel that neither has the leg up in regard to encouraging consumers to further investigate news stories. I feel that each platform provides news media in the way best suited for that specific platform. Facebook is a social media platform in which users can share well thought out information. It often provides a significant amount of information regarding News media, be it a photograph, a video, or a long excerpt of text. This provides significant information to consumers on the spot.
On the other hand, Twitter is a very “in the moment” form of social media. The 140 characters leaves little room for elaboration, and tweets are frequently short, sweet, and to the point. Therefore, its news reporting is not often in depth, but encourages media consumers to further explore the subject. Twitter often reports news in small portions as soon as each bit of information breaks. Millennials make up almost half of all Twitter users as stated in a report by the Pew Research Center entitled Twitter News Consumers. The platform plays to their yearn for constant updates and frequent new information.
Overall, I agree that social media will continue to have a very large impact on the way in which media consumers get their news. In regard to the future development of news media reporting, I can imagine that individuals will become more and more accustom to “in the moment” reporting and immediate information right to the palm of their hand.
Works Cited
Mitchell, Amy, and Dana Page. "The Role of News on Facebook." Pew Research Center (2014): n. pag. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.
Mitchell, Amy, and Dana Page. "Twitter News Consumers." Pew Research Center (2013): n. pag. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.
Wiedeman, Reeves. "Last Man Running." The New Yorker. N.p., 13 Feb. 2015. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.
Jessica Betsy
ReplyDeleteIt is safe to say that the way we consume any type of news story nowadays tends to be different than what we grew up with. We used to hear about what was happening around our nation and even around the globe only by TV, daily newspapers, radio and even by word of mouth. Though times have changed. See we were all introduced to this thing called social media and now we are so dependent on these platforms by hiding behind small screens such as an iPhone or tablet to find out the latest news. To be honest, rarely do I turn on the TV to listen to one of the news stations like I used to. The only time I’m consuming any news story on a TV is when I am watching a talk show such as The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Otherwise, like many, I take to a social media platform like Facebook and learn what is happening around the world that way.
As for these social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, Evan, I couldn’t agree with you more when you stated that they “play such an important role in spreading news to their users”, which is certainly true. That is what these networking sites do. They spread all types of news whether it be about entertainment like Lady Gaga getting engaged or about the weather to warn us about the latest snow storm about to hit the Northeast.
Not only is our generation using these social media platforms like Facebook to learn what is happening in our country and around the world, but adults are too! According to a Pew Research Center article, “The proportions who get news, combined with the total reach of a site, show how many U.S. adults are learning about events and issues through each social networking site.” The article goes on to say, “Facebook is by far the largest social networking site among U.S. adults, and with half of its users getting news there, is also the largest among U.S. adults when it comes to getting news” (News Use across Social Media Platforms). This did not surprise me at all. Why? Well a social media platform like Facebook is a convenient and instantaneous way to learn about such news stories. And isn’t that what we love? Quick and easy, especially in our world today? And I believe the reason why we are able to learn about such news stories as fast as we do is because our “friends” on Facebook are able to “like”, “comment”, or “share” stories, which allows such stories to be spread all across a social media platform like Facebook for others to see.
Though what I did find fascinating is how we are exposed to these news stories unintentionally, like Evan mentioned. According to another article by Pew Research Center, it stated, “Most U.S. adults do not go to Facebook seeking news out, the nationally representative online survey of 5,173 adults finds,” and the article further states, “Instead, the vast majority of Facebook news consumers, 78%, get news when they are on Facebook for other reasons” (The Role of News on Facebook). And I can certainly say this is exactly how I learn about news stories often times too; when I am scrolling through my news feed and see an article from the Huffington Post or BuzzFeed that seems of interest to me.
To say the least, I definitely believe social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are great ways to find and learn about news stories even if your not deliberately looking.
Works Cited
“News Use across Social Media Platforms.” Pew Research Center. 14 Nov. 2013. Web.
“The Role of News on Facebook.” Pew Research Center. 24 Oct. 2013. Web.
ReplyDeleteEvan argues that “both social media sites play a major role in allowing their users to find out about local and national news” and all the readings would back him up. I am going to argue that social media news is just an arm of the traditional networks, especially to those who are going from cable news to social media news.
The Pewresearchcenter.org finds that “Twitter news consumers stand out for being younger and more educated than both the population overall and Facebook news consumers”. The method for determining education was a look at college degrees, (a joke in determining political involvement of different age groups). It also tells us that 23% often watch cable news (compared with 24% of all U.S. adults) meaning that the respective outlets have the same amount of audience.
The idea that people on Twitter don’t like opinionated news like the study says is hard to imagine. Social media allows for a new arena that the opinion leaders can disseminate information to their family and friends. The most prevalent way for this to happen is by reposting a link to an article. This article would have had to shown up on your newsfeed, therefore it was posted by someone you follow like a journalist. Who are people following? Most likely established journalists that are working for a traditional network.
Illustration- I grew up watching ESPN for my sports news, where do I get my news from after Twitter became my news forum? Adam Schefter, Ryan Rucco, Michael Kay’s newsfeed. They are all part of the establishment just on a new platform. Now the idea that social media allows for smaller players to gain a following is not wrong. For I still follow the more Mom+Pop journalists from WFAN. Consistently liberal people are following their favorite nerdy pundits from MSNBC, and that these pundits are a media in them delivering you productions that enforce their television content. As the reading CNN Becoming Like Fox News shows traditional cable news is more based on opinion than on fact. This would naturally carry over to any content that they would post on social media.
In the graphic titled “Trust Level of News Sources by Ideological Group” the last news outlet listed is Buzzfeed. It is also the only outlet listed that is unanimously untrusted,(Mitchell). Note that this is a poll of people that are “Consistently Conservative or Liberal” or people that are already entrenched in traditional news outlets like Fox News and various liberal media, as the reading explains. Buzzfeed doesn’t have a parent TV station, and is not trusted by the TV audience. This shows that people who come from cable news to social media news are going to their traditional news pundits from the television shows.
My argument is that there is no difference between content on social media and cable TV, the opinions and viewpoints will remain the same. The only thing that will differ is the amount of participation and sharing that social media allows to the opinion leaders to help the traditional news outlets gain some more audience
Lang, Brent. “CNN Becoming Like Fox News, MSNBC, Pew Study Finds”. The Wrap. March 18, 2013. Web.
Mitchell, Amy. Page, Dana. “The Role of News on Facebook.” Pew Research Center. 24 Oct. 2013. Web.
Mitchell, Amy. Page, Dana. “Twitter News Consumers.” Pew Research Center. 4 Nov. 2013. Web.
Katie Phillips
ReplyDeleteI think that Evan came up with a lot of great points in his blog this week. I liked how he brought up the subject about adults usage with social media especially when it comes to Facebook. He explained how, “The Pew Research Center declared Facebook as the largest media platform, with 64% of its users being adults. They found that out of the 64% of adult users, half of them use Facebook as their first news source, which is equivalent to 30% of the adult population. This statistic shows that most U.S adults do not go to Facebook as their news source.” I agree that the adult population may not use Facebook as a way to receive news however, I do feel like more adults then younger adults use Facebook. I do not even have a Facebook anymore because of this, Facebook these days does not seem like a way for younger generations to share memories with one another, or keep in touch with one another while being apart like in college for example, it is now a way for adults to reconnect with one another after many years of not seeing each other.
In Evan’s blog he explained how,” although Facebook has the ability to expose its users to news, Twitter is known as the biggest breaking news outlet in the 21st century.” The Pew Research Center also explained how,” In addition, a separate Pew Research analysis of conversations on Twitter around major news events reveals three common characteristics: much of what gets posted centers on passing along breaking news: sentiments shift considerably over time; and however passionate, the conversations do not necessarily track with public opinion.” This may be true when it comes to an app that keeps society up to date 24/7 about the news, however I feel like the best app of the 21st Century that will become most popular and most commonly used is Instagram. I believe that the younger generation has turned Instagram into something spectacular and very original. Before Facebook there was MySpace, which wasn’t the same thing but was similar. There was not an app like Instagram before it came about.
The Pew Research Center also went on to explain how, “News plays a varying role across the social networking sites. Roughly half of both Facebook and Twitter users get news on those sites, earlier reports have shown. On Youtube, that is true of only one-fifth of its user base, and for LinkedIn, the number is even smaller. And Pinterest, a social pin board for visual content, is hardly used for news at all.” I do not have a Facebook or a Twitter, I only have Snapchat and an Instagram, however I do not need those apps in order to receive any news that I need to hear because I know that my friends who do have those apps will keep me up to date. I believe that there are going to be more and more apps created that just keep us connected and up to date with the news. I do not think my children will use Facebook, I believe that they will use something that my generation would have never thought would exist.
“News Use across Social Media Platforms.” Pew Research Center. 14 Nov. 2013. Web.
“Twitter News Consumers.” Pew Research Center. 4 Nov. 2013. Web.
Antonia Jones
ReplyDeleteEveryone has spent a lot of time discussing the two social media platforms, Facebook and Twitter. But there was something that struck me while I was reading one of the Pew Research articles. It reads, “Reddit is a news destination for nearly two-thirds of its users (62%). But since just 3% of the U.S. population uses reddit, that translates to 2% of the population that gets news there” (News Use across Social Media Platforms).
I hate to be that person, but what is Reddit? As a media studies major, I should know what it is and have heard teachers mention it in passing, but I’ve never used it. Regardless, I want to talk about my experience with this particular social media platform because it is very different then Twitter and Facebook.
It’s evident that Reddit is much more popular in places outside U.S. And it seems that people do get news and information of all sorts from it. But I asked myself why don’t Americans use it? I think I know the answer.
There were several words that came to mind when I entered the Reddit sphere. Unorganized, unaesthetic, and thoughtless. Everything about the site was distasteful to me because it’s a jumbled mess of different fonts, colors, numbers, symbols, and pictures.There are too many things to click on and my eyes jumped around the screen unable to land on one thing for more then a few seconds. But what really caught my attention were two headlines that were under Reddits “hot” category. One title read 6.9 magnitude earthquake recorded in North Japan and the other read girls of reddit, when you are wearing those long, claw-like fake nails how do you wipe your butt? After reading this, I immediately exited out of the website with a dumbfounded look on my face and a blank stare at the computer screen. What just happened?
(Jones Cont.)
ReplyDeleteEverything about this website is what I believe I was taught to hate as an organized tech savvy millennial. I grew up on a Windows desktop and was given my first Apple laptop when I was 16. When I was 13, I was a MySpace user. I even remember owning a Sidekick cell phone. Reddit reminds me of all the past “technologies” that I have come across in my lifetime and the only word that I am left with that ties these all together is, outdated. But let me get back to why this particular social media platform and news don’t mix.
How is someone supposed to take news seriously when headlines such as that are deemed “hot” and worthy topics for discussion. How do 62% of Reddit users weed out all the pointless garbage in order to get to the news. I care less about how users do it and care more about how unimportant real news feels on this site. I am okay with the fact that Americans don’t use this site.
Twitter specifically has helped expose me to the news world. If I see something interesting, I click on it. It can be about sports, politics, entertainment, etc. And it can come from the AP Press, NBC News, or even ESPN. And as stated in What we learned about The New York Times this year, “Millennials may not be signing up in droves for the NYT Now app, but the conventional wisdom that young readers can’t be reached by traditional news outlets is just wrong. Despite the rash of new millennial-aimed online publications from BuzzFeed to Elite Daily, traditional media are still getting a fair share of readers in their 20s and 30s” (Moses). Social media has undoubtedly made it possible for traditional news outlets to reach young people. And even though I am young, enjoy soft and hard news, have a phone to my face too much; I can differentiate when a social media platform is garbage and whether it has redeeming value or not.
Moses, Lucia. "What We Learned About The New York Times This Year.” Digiday. 31 Dec. 2014. Web.
“News Use across Social Media Platforms.” Pew Research Center. 14 Nov. 2013. Web.