The thorny relationship between journalists and social media has once more been propelled into headlines, following the fake Facebook profiles of Bilawal Bhutto.
AFP was reported to have barred its journalists from using Facebook or Wikipedia as sources. Or rather, it has told its reporters not to simply to rely on these sites the sole source for a story. Anyone in journalism will tell you that this is just good practice. A reporter should always try to get two sources to corroborate a story.
But aside from getting into a discussion about shoddy journalism, the emergence of social media has created both dilemmas and opportunities for journalists. As Jennifer Woodard Maderazo writes on MediaShift:
Online communities — like villages and workplaces — are breeding grounds for rumors and speculation. And the nature of some of the tools we use might lead to inconsistent, incomplete and all-around incorrect information. Using social media tools to write a story has both its pros and cons, but with a little common sense and professionalism these tools can be very helpful.
The article explores how journalists can tap into social media sites such as Facebook, MySpace or Flickr as resources. Here in Vancouver, journalists at The Vancouver Sun and The Province now go to Facebook when working on stories. Reporters race to grab any details on a Facebook profile, before the person involves deletes or removes it.
Journalists should engage with social media as it can be a powerful way of enhancing their reporting. But just because something is new, it doesn’t mean that old reporting habits should be abandoned:
In the end, it boils down to knowing how to get the most out of these tools while being wary of them, and sticking to the rule that far pre-dates the Internet: find the truth behind the story and check your facts.
Journalism might be in a period of tremendous change due to the Internet. But the essence of quality journalism remains the same.
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