Social Media: The End of "New" News?

Jenna Finer
jf865310@ohio.edu

Our generation is the generation of technology. It is incredible to see the growth and progress that electronics have made over our lifetime. I'm sure I am not the only one who remembers my mother's old cell phone, which may as well have been a brick.

It has been both a blessing a curse for us young adults, utilizing technology and social media in such a detrimental way. The value of handwritten work has diminished, as well as the value of communication. The seriousness of a relationship is measured by the amount of text messages and emojis, not meaningful conversations to be had in person.

Technology has also greatly effected news. The majority of news organizations' success grew, since websites and social media accounts allow for a larger audience. Sites like Facebook and Twitter, the world's most popular social networking sites, are to thank for this. The traffic of information and users to come across news organizations are, however, susceptible to be lost in the world wide web and creates an issue for the news.

Photo Credit: northversailieslibrary.org

In the article "Twitter: Often first, not always right" the author talks about this "issue" as a miscommunication. In February 2012, the American entertainment legend Whitney Houston tragically died from a drug overdose. I remember the day it happened not because I was emotionally distraught, but because of how I found out.

My iPhone at my side, I was scrolling through Twitter and saw a post about her passing. Immediately I called my parents and told them the shocking news. They were watching a late-night television program and couldn't believe that it wouldn't have been interrupted with "breaking news." As the article on CNN explains, none of the TV programs were prepared...not for another half hour, anyways.

Video credit: Youtube.com

Even with an unknown user, Twitter allows stories to "trend" or be discovered. In the case of Whitney Houston it was a hit. You never know which people, or celebrities, will see it. This "word of mouth" situation is another factor to the legitimacy of news not coming from a news source.

The author goes on to explain that although social media is important, it is not the be all end all for news organizations. It is there job to verify and authorize all information that is reported. The Twitter account that is distributing breaking news is also crucial; a random user with major news is not nearly as likely to be followed, shared and retweeted as a well-known news account.

Socialmediatoday.com weighed in on this matter. In an article "Experts Weigh In on Social Media's Impact on Journalism" authors stress the significance in checking sources before turning to social media to break a story. You can read the full article here. Additionally, it is noted how "Radio, TV and the Internet changed how information was reported, but journalism standards remained intact through each new age. Social media does not change that.

Our ethical codes and standards do not become revised as the distribution of news around us does, and I believe that more news organizations should realize that before tweeting the next big story.