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How Does Social Media Shape Media Convergence? The Case of Journalists Covering War and Conflict

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Media Convergence Handbook - Vol. 1

Part of the book series: Media Business and Innovation ((MEDIA))

Abstract

Social media has affected the production, dissemination and consumption of news, as well as the professional and cultural values of journalists working within the media. This contribution illustrates the dynamic and complex relationship professional journalists have with social media and the way this relationship plays out in the reporting of news. The methods used to collect the evidence included two content analyses of stories about the “Arab Spring”, and 30 interviews with journalists and other media workers who used social media to cover the Arab Spring. These analyses will show that social media has a number of advantages and disadvantages for both journalists and news reportage. Tracing the various aspects of the complex dynamics that shape social media, this study points out that the profession of journalism is still very much needed for our society. Professionally trained to decode what is produced on social media, journalists can act as moderators of news diffusion within those platforms; the role of journalists can be further extended to that of producers, mediators and curators of social media content. Therefore, the use of social media leads to the convergence of different functions in the single role of a journalist.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank her two thesis supervisors Dr. Dal Zotto and Dr. Bossio as well as the scholars that have evaluated her Ph.D. dissertation Dr. Paulussen, Dr. Dubied and Dr. Grevisse. Many thanks also to the unknown reviewers of the chapter and the two editors of this book who have helped to improve and wisely valorized this study.

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  1. Academy of Journalism and Media, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland

    Vittoria Sacco

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  1. Visualisation and Interactive Media; School of Media, Culture, and Creative Arts (MCCA), Curtin University , Bentley - Perth, West Australia, Australia

    Artur Lugmayr

  2. Academy of Journalism and Media; Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Neuchâtel , Neuchâtel, Switzerland

    Cinzia Dal Zotto

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Sacco, V. (2016). How Does Social Media Shape Media Convergence? The Case of Journalists Covering War and Conflict. In: Lugmayr, A., Dal Zotto, C. (eds) Media Convergence Handbook - Vol. 1. Media Business and Innovation. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54484-2_20

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