It is no secret that social media has become part of our every day and has found itself interwoven with media and news. Many people receive their news from Twitter, Snapchat, or Instagram. People are quicker to spread information and break the news as soon as someone posts about it, meaning people find out the latest news faster, but this increases the chances of false information spreading rapidly. Social media has grown from merely posting updates and pictures from individuals to distributing knowledge and creating groups of like-minded people.
Initially, traditional journalists and news companies shunned social media as they saw it as an unreliable source of news. However, through the growth of social media and the speed at which information comes from it when events occur, journalists and news sites have begun to see how helpful an online presence can have to learn about events around the world. An example of this comes from an article in the economist titled The People formerly known as the Audience explains that, through social media, Al Jazeera, one of the most popular news sites in the Middle East, was able to give updates and reports of what was happening during the uprising of the Arab spring even when they could not get reporters on the ground.
One notable impact of news and social media growth is the demand for printed newspapers has shrunk as people will read the articles online or get the summarized versions on Twitter. An article titled the Last Call. The end of the printed newspaper, explains the effects of technology on the printed newspaper and media outlook. Even the most prominent media groups have found themselves downsizing to cut costs. The struggle for traditional new papers and media is like the issues that bookstores and print companies have found themselves in as people have begun to go predominately online and are buying physical copies less and less.
It is essential for media and PR companies to become accustomed and comfortable with technology and social media because it is the future of how news is shared globally. It is notable how many people get their information from online sources, and PR companies and news networks need to grow in this direction. Social media has had a significant impact on my everyday life and similarly for everyone I know. Most people do when they wake up to check their phones and go on social media to respond to friends and check the news. The future of News and PR lies online and on social media.
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