CULT3020: Digital Culture Student: Elyse Gunner 3110913 Topic: (Weeks 8-9) Social Networking in the media.

1. Social Networking
VS.
The Media Images courtesy of
Flickr.

2. An example of ‘remix culture’: picture
courtesy of Flickr (uploaded by Judson
Dunn) and edited through Photobucket.

3. Picture courtesy of
Ruth. A Harper, 2009
According to Dana. M Boyd and Nicole B. Ellison, both contributors to the
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, While their key technological
integrants are moderately homogenous, the cultures that emerge around
Social Networking sites (such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, Tumblr
and Blogger) are heterogeneous. Most ‘SN’ sites support the maintenance of
pre-existing social networks, but others help strangers connect based on
mutual interests, similar political and religious views, or associated activities.
In short, the two Communication theorists define the Social Networking
conjecture as web-based services that permit individuals to firstly “construct a
public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, articulate a list of other
users with whom they share a connection, and finally, view and traverse their
list of connections and those made by others within the system.” (2007,P 13.)

4. Social Networking (SN) has made way for a new style of
journalism; it has unreservedly advanced the way news is
sourced and disseminated to audiences amongst our digitally
and technologically proficient culture.
Academic Ruth A. Harper asserts that: “In the traditional
world newspapers, corporations, governments, or other types
of leading organisations simply had to give out information,
and people would consume it by reading or looking at it…this Screen shot courtesy of
seemingly tried-and-true method has started to transform; Facebook.
simply making information available is not enough for today’s
public. Today’s audiences expect to be able to choose what
they read, and most believe they should be able to contribute
content and opinions, too.” (December 4, 2009.) Harper goes
on to coin the aforementioned as ‘the social media
revolution’, and contends it is not the death of journalism, but
ratherthe birth of an autonomous movement provoked by
SN’s; inclusive of every individual.

5. “Facebook gives reporters a means to
Screen shot courtesy of The connect with communities involved
Sydney Morning Herald’s official
Facebook page.
with stories, find sources, and
generate leads.”
“Journalists and the
institutions they write for
are finding Facebook to
be an important resource
in conducting the
reporting that they do.”
-Leah Betancourt,
August 4, 2009.

6. Journalist and Communication Academic Suellen Tapsall asserts that Social
Networking provides immediacy of paramount events and the ability to
apprise and update news stories as they happen, therefore aiding modern
journalistic practice. (2011)
The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance contend: “after a sceptical start
among news executives, social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter are
gaining increasing acceptance as ways to source stories.” (MEAA, 2010, P. 22.)
According to ‘Guardian UK’ blogger Mercedes Bunz, (2010) BBC news
journalists were told to implement social networking sites, i.e. Facebook and
Twitter, as a chiefinitiator of sourcing information by the director of Global
News, Peter Horrocks, when he took over the esteemed position in 2010.
Screen shot courtesy
of ‘The Guardian, UK,’
2010.

7. "This isn't just a kind of fad from
someone who's an enthusiast of
technology. I'm afraid you're not
doing your job if you can't do those
things. It's not discretionary"
"If you don't like it, if you think that
level of change or that different way of
BBC director of Global News, Peter Horrocks;
Image courtesy of Martin Godwin, ‘The working isn't right for me, then go and
Guardian, UK’, 2010. do something else, because it's going
to happen. You're not going to be able
to stop it."
-Peter Horrocks Re Social
Networking’s prominence in
contemporary journalism,
(Cited in Bunz, 2010.)

8. Communication theorist
Eduardo Collado complied a
table of “news production
stages”: As noted in the
accompanying table, Social
Networking can easily be placed
under the category of
“Access/Observation”: The
inceptive information-gathering
stage at which source material
for a news story/article is
generated. Citizen-style
journalism such as eyewitness
accounts and audio-visual
contributions are an example of
user generated journalism, and
are heavily aided by Social
Table courtesy of Networking sites, i.e. Facebook.
Eduardo Collado ,
2011. (Collado, 2011.)

9. In the 2010 Media,
Entertainment and Arts
Alliance report titled ‘Life
in the Clickstream’, it
states that while Facebook
is by no means a new
technological
phenomenon, it is still the
most ‘versatile’ and
‘popular’ way to source
news. “It allows users to
upload stories, post
images and videos and
participate in forum
discussions.” (MEAA, 2010,
P 35.) With the average
Facebook user boasting
100-300 virtual friends, it
is a heterogeneous
Medium for
Newsgathering
Image courtesy of the MEAA, (Ibid).
December 2010

10. The MEAA in their bi-annual report list a relevant example of an instance
where Social Networking is used to generate news and opinions in
modern journalism. Below is a screen shot from the official Facebook of
‘SBS Insight’, a current affair-style program hosted by gold Walkley
winning journalist, Jenny Brockie.
Screen shot courtesy of ‘SBS Insight’
official Facebook, 2011.

11. The example of ‘SBS’s Insight’ on Facebook
reinforces the Social Networking conjecture,
where by the page is used to generate and source
interviews and ask for participants to vote on
informal polls; the implementation of Social Screen shot courtesy of ‘SBS
Networking sites in all aspects of the media (print Insight’ Facebook.
and radio also inclusive) are using Facebook more
and more. (MEAA, 2010, P 35.)

12. Teaching an old dog new
tricks:
“Understanding how to use new
opportunities (i.e. Facebook and Twitter) for
journalism is central” (Media Entertainment
and Arts Alliance, 2008, P. 37). As a result of
an apparent demand to use Social
Networking in sourcing news stories, the
MEAA have introduced dedicated training
courses in adapting to such technology,
including ‘The Wired Scribe: Telling Digital
Stories.’
The MEAA contend that the concentrated
two day course helps to introduce and Photo courtesy of the
acquaint seasoned journalists with the MEAA website, 2010.
“online media landscape” and “provide an
overview of changes to the media industry
and help participants engage with online
media through online tools such as RSS
feeders and social networking tools. (The
Walkley Foundation, 2011.)

13. Lindsay Oberst asserts that journalists no
longer seek out the news; instead, they have it
easily and efficiently disseminated to them via
Social Networking. From the references
mentioned in the previous slides of this
presentation, it could easily be contended that
Social Media in news gathering is a trend that
doesn’t appear to be slowing down. Picture courtesy of Lindsay Oberst, 2011.
‘SustainableJournalism.org’ complied a study
endeavoring to determine the top ways that
journalists, and media proprietors alike, have
utilised Social Networking in gathering
important, breaking news.

14. ‘New York Times Columnist Uses
Facebook to Report from Egypt’:
Journalist Nick Kristof used
Facebook to report on his
harrowing time amidst the
most recent Egyptian riots.
His moment-by-moment
status updates received
hundreds of comments and
generated reputable leads.
“While news stories tell what
happened, Social Media feeds
report on the present,”
asserts Lindsay Oberst.
(Oberst, October 26, 2011.) Screen shot courtesy of Megan
Garber, Nieman Journalism Lab,
January 30, 2011.

15. Mind map explaining the process of Social
Networking in dissemination of news stories;
courtesy of ‘Mindomo.com.’

16. Image courtesy of Flickr.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34cdYF0w08s&feature=related
YouTube Video from ‘The press club of Long island’, talking about how Social
Media has changed the way they (the journalists) engage and disseminate
information.

17. • Flickr: http://www.flickr.com
• Photobucket:
http://s282.photobucket.com/albums/kk267/elyse_
anne/
• Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/
• Moyea Powerpoint templates:http://www.dvd-
ppt-slideshow.com/powerpoint-background/
• Mindomo: http://www.mindomo.com/#editor
• Facebook: www.facebook.com

18. Betancourt, L 2009, The journalists guide to Facebook, Mashable, viewed October 2011,
http://mashable.com/2009/08/03/facebook-journalism/
Boyd, D.M and Ellison, N.B 2007, Social Network Sites: Definition, History and Scholarship, Journal
of Computer-Mediated Communication, P 13, article 11, Viewed October 2011
http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html
Bunz, M 2010, ‘BBC Tells News Staff to Embrace Social Media’, The Guardian, 10 February, viewed
October 2011,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2010/feb/10/bbc-news-social-media
Collado, E 2011, Twitter, Citizen Journalism and News production Stages, viewed October 2011,
http://eduardocollado.com/en/
Garber, M 2011, Nick Kristof turns to Facebook to report from Egypt, viewed October 2011,
http://www.niemanlab.org/2011/01/nick-kristof-turns-to-facebook-to-report-from-egypt/
Harper, R.A 2009, The social media revolution: exploring the impact on journalism and news
media organisations, Student Pulse, viewed October 2011,
http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/202/the-social-media-revolution-exploring-the-impact-on-
journalism-and-news-media-organizations
Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance 2010, Life in the Clickstream II: The Future of Journalism,
viewed October 2011,
http://www.thefutureofjournalism.org.au/
Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance 2008, Life in the Clickstream: The Future of Journalism,
viewed October 2011,
http://www.alliance.org.au/documents/foj_report_final.pdf

19. Oberst, L 2011, Journalism and social media: 15 examples worth learning from, Sustainable
Journalism, viewed October 2011,
http://sustainablejournalism.org/socialmedia/journalism-social-media-examples
The Walkley Foundation, 2011, Media Alliance Training Courses, viewed October, 2011,
http://www.walkleys.com/training
Tapsall, S 2011, ‘The Media is the Message’, in S Tapsall & C Varley (eds), Journalism: Theory in
Practice, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne