Social Media Platforms and Journalism, Term Paper Example

Thesis Statement:

The instant and virtually universal connectivity of any of the various social media platforms cannot be ignored in modern America, and, in many ways, has proved to be beneficial in many aspects of journalism, however, due to “the shrinkage of newsrooms” (or, “amateurs and professionals sharing the same sphere”) (Ward, 2012), as well as a “growing concern that we are moving further away from…ethical decision making” highlighted by bias reporting (Zara, 2013), as well as a slew of “unavoidable ethical dilemmas” for the digital age (Markula Center, 2013) these social media platforms have jeopardized the integrity of true modern journalism.

Description of Strategy:

In the introduction paragraph, I plan to introduce the various ways social media platforms are used, as best to immediately serve to relate with the audience. I will then present a few arguments to the contrary of my argument for the simple purpose of deconstructing and breaking them down. Ward’s theory on the “shrinkage of newsrooms” and the difficulty to discern what is professional and what is not is a good way to begin to introduce my agreement. It will certainly prove to serve the point at the time. Moving on, I will discuss the bias reporting social media lends itself to as described by Zara. Depending on who “your” proverbial friends are has a direct impact on the point of view one receives. With the ability to simply repost what someone has said with the push of a button means opinions, rather than fact, can be spread more rapidly than ever before, or going “viral”. This undermines credible, professional, ethical journalism by cluttering the news with sources-less and baseless claims. I will then transition to the page that offers all the digital journalism ethics, to deconstruct how social media undermines them. To finish up, I will refer to the “unavoidable ethical dilemmas” described by the international panel cited by the Markula Center. I will discern what ethical violations are simply by nature, and which ones are malicious, to help the reader understand the difference between progress and ethics. This is a very important part of the thesis, and will take up a very large part of the paper. It has been established that some social issues in journalism are inherent–that is to say there is no way to avoid them. The nature of social media lend people to voice their opinions, and occasionally these opinions will be misconstrued as actual fact. The real key is how to distinguish what is a credible source, and what is not. The problem remains in the source of the source, or, as it were, source of the source of the source, and how credible that person is. Without any way to distinguish that at all, there will always be ethical issues between journalism and any of the many social media platforms. Again, the main purpose is maliciousness, source, and the source of widespread information quickly.

Bibliography:

“Center for Journalism Ethics.” Center for Journalism Ethics. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. <http://ethics.journalism.wisc.edu/resources/digital-media-ethics/>.

“Paywalls, Profits And Pageview Journalism: Ethics In The Digital Age.” International Business Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2013 <http://www.ibtimes.com/paywalls-profits-pageview-journalism-ethics-digital-age-993704>.

“Santa Clara University.” – Unavoidable Dilemmas. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. <http://www.scu.edu/ethics-center/digital-journalism-ethics/unavoidable_dilemmas.cfm>.