Enrique
Castejón-Lara
Abstract:
Journalists have begun to realize that they not
need longer use the deceptive "communicational" strategies of social media,
based in “linking traps”. Facebook’s recent decision to push back the
traditional journalistic media in its time line, has provoked a very important
change in journalism behavior. Many news organizations are calling their reporters
to resume their own traditional information techniques to avoid readers
frustrations.
Facebook has
compromised its own information channel value. When it set the news from traditional
media —with no chronological alternation chances— behind users’ personal
messages in their time line, maybe thought that such decision will be “popular”
enough and will make people happier. However, that drastic change will limit audiences’
possibilities of obtaining a trusty and opportune news source when immersed in
the habitual torrent of confusing information, rumors and fake facts.
In that
sense, although Facebook has pushed journalism to the end of its “messages
stream,” traditional news reporting is progressively capturing back a bigger
interest of people for “professional information”.
So that, in
this case Facebook’s decision is acting as a news catalyzer. People, confused
by the awkward social media’s information flow, look traditional journalistic
sites for clarifying stories.
On the
other hand, Facebook also has helped journalism to realize that it really does
not need the “social media’s tricks” to gain audiences. It only requires his
traditional and trusty news diffusion tools.
Recently, the
Inter American Press Association promoted a webinar named “Journalism beyond
Facebook,” that was lectured[1] by
Edgar Fonseca-Monge. Basically, Mr. Fonseca talked about the new limitations
impose by that social medium against traditional journalistic sites, and how
that “adverse situation” could represent for journalism a new opportunity to
increase audience loyalty.
IAPA
webinar established that, before Facebook’s decision, journalists only have to
reinforce their traditional mechanisms and techniques to capture, with true
stories, the interest of people.
In short,
Facebook maybe has helped decisively journalism to go back to its original
purpose, when it pushed news back in its message time line. Why? Now journalism
is, again, forward!
References
Castejon-Lara, Enrique. Interpretative reporting. CreateSpace
Independent Publishing (Amazon), 2015.
Fonseca, Edgar-Monge. Journalism
beyond Facebook. Inter-American Press Association (IAPA), webinar February 2018.
