Impacts of Twitter on Multimedia Journalism. - 1650 Words

Impacts of Twitter on Multimedia Journalism. (Research Paper Sample) Content: Name Professor Institution Date Impacts of Twitter on Multimedia Journalism Communication-related technologies are sought to increase the capacity in which people interact. McKinsey report of 2008, cited that new and immerging technologies increase the ability of interaction by a factor of two to five. McKinsey argued that an enhanced interactive ability can create novel ways in which people conduct businesses, serve customers, and communicate to their audience. The developments of the communication and information technology have an impact not only on the corporate world but also in every sphere of life. Journalism is in the forefront in this sphere of life. Recently, the adoption of powerful technologies tools of communication is on a steady increase. There is an increasing popularity in the use of the internet to handle a two-way interaction through the use of blogs, social networks, wikis, and message boards. Social media networks notably Facebook and Twitter, have adversely influenced the journalism industry. The news industry is dynamically evolving, and it's trying to keep pace with new web technologies. The social media networks and the novel web applications particularly the web 2.0, have enlightened new opportunities for the multimedia journalist and the news industry. The emergence of the news industry related technology has also raised the probability of competence and professional crisis for media corporates and journalist. For instance, several multimedia journalists find it hard to relay a comprehensive news using a Twitter social interaction website. The core reason as to why they are unable to deliver information effectively is due to the character limitation. Twitter has a limitation of 140 characters per post. Some of the journalists find it challenging to deliver a news bulletin using a maximum of 140 characters (Green, Stuart Lidinsky). Therefore, with the advancement and dynamics of the news industry, there is a dire need to develop competency that is compatible with the emerging technologies. A study that was conducted by Kwak and his team in 2013 cited that news twitter accounts are playing the role of traditional news media. The team also cited that, this news Twitter accounts are more powerful in delivering the news to the intended audience than the traditional news media. Twitter news accounts have gain popularity due to its flexibility. A Twitter user can actively choose which news accounts to follow and subscribe to. They also have liberty to unsubscribe the tweets whenever they deem it necessary. Therefore, the Twitter users can subscribe only to their favorite news source. Moreover, the form of news has also contributed to twitters popularity. It is arguable that politically inattentive individuals find it convenient to subscribe to soft news as opposed to traditional news. With Twitter, such citizens can access the news in a form of a short message (tweet) and also be able to interact by retweeting. Thus, Twitter is an effective medium to promulgate messages of public interest. The Twitter effect has also influenced the efficiency and the speed of spreading information. A Twitter effect refers to the rapid unfurl of information through a Twitter platform. Twitter has become an essential tool for a journalist, especially when delivering a breaking news (Newman 4). For instance, a journalist using a Twitter account to report a news event can disseminate the information instantly unlike a journalist who uses a newspaper column. In addition, the journalist can devise a hashtag through which he or she can filter all the comments related to his or her news event report. A perfect scenario that has demonstrated the use of Twitter in communicating a breaking news is the event of New York's Hudson River plane crash. The news spread over the Twitter user. In fact, the Twitter user broke the news of the event approximately fifteen minutes before the traditional mainstreams alerted their viewers. Twitter has helped journalist in gathering information and ideas. Through the interactive capability of Twitter, it is possible for a journalist to access the feedback on the event reported. The feedback can enable him or her to gain more information about the event. The journalist can also gain an idea to research from the comments. Moreover, the journalist can also learn ideas about a particular field by following experts within that given area. For instance, an investigative political journalist can subscribe and follow expert political analyst. The writer can learn information from the political analyst. In addition, the journalist can also gain ideas of news bulletin and informative news from the analysis of that particular expert. Twitter is also a good avenue to gain entertainment and celebrity news. In this modern generation, celebrities such as musician are using Twitter to announce new songs released. Social media bestows journalist with a platform in which they can showcase their researched works. Several journalist in most cases may be unable to use the traditional media to showcase their research finding. Media corporates particularly the television and radio have specific programs thus limiting the airtime for a journalist who may wish to air their correspondence (Wilson, Drew Supa 11). Twitter can aid such individuals by promoting sites and websites URL where the audience can find the information. The goal for the journalist is to educate and to bring up a positive impact on the society. Social media have provided them with a platform where they can fulfill their goals without significant restrictions in the traditional media such as the newspaper, radio, and television. Twitter is a valuable tool that journalist can use for crowdsourcing. If a reporter has a substantial base of followers who shares the same interest, the journalist can use the numbers to gain quick answers as well as story links. For a journalist to enjoy from the follower, he or she must develop an effective means of communication. Finding a right source of information can be a time-consuming pursuit for a traditional reporter. An effective Twitter user can gain answers pertaining credible news sources instantly from his followers. Despite the fact that the journalist will still need to use old-school reporting protocols to verify the sources, lots of time and resources will have been saved. A reporter can also use the device a hashtag from where he can gain first-hand information from the audience. For instance, in a case of an accident a journalist can device, a hashtag such as "#statespress did you witness the train crash?" he can, later on, interview the correspondents. Twitter provide an avenue whereby, a journalist can respond to questions and criticism. The journalist is public figure within the society. Various students, especially those passionate about the media industry will cite journalist as their role models (Newman 3). To this effect, the population will be obliged to seek answers pertaining various aspect of that particular journalist. For instance, the education background, motivating factors, challenges, or even remuneration. The kit is only on a social media network where they can respond to the question in a real time manner. Secondly, positive criticism helps one to climb the ladder within a career. A journalist who engages with followers on Twitter can view criticism about their work. The positive criticism helps a journalist to become better. For instance, an audience can criticize a reporter for overusing body expression when delivering an event report; such criticism will help the journalist to improve the stature and the use of non-verbal cues. Twitter has also proved to a valuable tool for business journalism. It is changing the manner in which financial news are being disseminated to the audience. The community of journalist, bloggers, traders, and trolls can...