How social media journalism competes, complements newspapers

Moderator, Kene Mkparu (left); Chief Executive Officer, Part 2 Media, Craig Shun; Director, Filmmaker, Uzodinnma Okpechi and Ijeoma Onah at the Future of filmmaker Summit to introducing a new cast of characters...Tech Trends in Film as part of activities of Day 5 of Social Media Week in Lagos...yesterday   PHOTO: FEMI ADEBESIN-KUTI

Traditional media practitioners have been urged to buckle up in their newsgathering and dissemination, especially now that technology is dictating the pace of development. This is even as it has been established that social media journalism, though becoming highly competitive, still plays very complimentary role to traditional media houses.

Panelists at a session hosted by Corporate & Financial Porter Novelli, a Public Relations firm, at the Social Media Week, which ended, yesterday in Lagos, agreed that social media has changed the traditional media space.

According to the Editor, BusinessDay newspaper, Anthony Osae-Brown, social media has changed the media landscape, stressing that it has become the fastest medium to speak to the public.

Osae-Brown noted that the challenge with traditional media is that they don’t re-invent, a challenge he said is not limited to the media sector alone.According to him, social media is not just complementing the traditional media, “but it is the future.”

The challenge this posed to traditional media is their ability to transit. It is neither complementing nor competitive, but it something more of the future. A traditional media needs to transit; it is not optional. Most people still read those stories online, but still wait to confirm the authentication of the stories through the printed editions,” he stated.

From his perspective, a former editor of The Cable, Fisayo Soyombo, stressed that social media journalism is but parasitic on mainstream journalism.

Making reference to an American study, which brought about the parasitic nature of social media journalism, Soyombo said they (Social Media Journalist) source 80 per cent of their content from traditional media, with 70 per cent of the revenue going to their purse at the expense of traditional media.

Soyombo, who defined social media journalism as journalism without journalists or an individual just cultivating an audience and informing them, noted that social media journalists play more competitive role to traditional media, “reason newspapers should do about news already broken by getting other side and the likely impact of such story on the people and the economy as a whole.”

To the Founder, Olorisupergal.com, Ms Tosin Ajibade, social media journalism is gradually taking over the traditional media landscape.
Ajibade said that the social media journalism worked with time, speed and verification. She however, urged social media audience to double check a story before accepting it as true or false.

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