Latest update October 6th, 2024 12:59 AM
May 08, 2022 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom
Social media has now become a threat to the traditional media. This is clearly evident from the recent press release issued by the Guyana Press Association (GPA).
In that release, the association again harped on an assertion which one of its senior officials had previously made. The GPA said that one of the problems with the just concluded conference hosted to commemorate World Press Freedom Day was the conflation of journalism with other aspects of communication including public relations practice and social media influencing.
The GPA noted that social media influencers (note the description) cannot be regarded as journalists and should not consider themselves as such. Previously, one leading light of the GPA had said that those social media operatives are not trained as journalists.
Ironically, many of our trained and experienced journalists have established social media and information outfits. They report on issues with the same and as equal competence as those who have remained in the traditional media.
The emergence of the internet and social media platforms such as Facebook and Tik Tok have challenged the traditional media which comprises newspapers, radio and television. The new digital technologies are now posing challenges to the traditional. Some social media operatives are now outclassing some of the established names in the media.
Technology has always presented challenges for the media. When television came to Guyana, it reduced radio listenership. Now, the emergence of social media has brought about change in the way people receive information. It is now more immediate and live.
By the time the radio and TV news programmes air their newscast, the majority of the population would have already known about the event. In the past, the majority of the population would have only learnt of certain news items by listening to or watching the newscast on radio and television respectively.
Most of the news reported in the daily newspapers have already been reported prior on social media. These news stories on social media are then shared extensively on social platforms
There is a difference, however, between the traditional media and social media. The reach of social media can never compare to that of the traditional media. Radio still enjoys the greatest reach of all. When one newspaper is sold as many as five persons read that one edition. So, in terms of reach, the traditional media, though suffering a decline in readership and listenership, still holds sway.
Social media also has its limitations. It is a network rather than mass-based. Only those on the network have access. And a person on the network can decide what they want to see appear on their page and what they do not want to appear. The reader of a newspaper and those who turn on the radio do not have that option. You can’t block advertisements for example from the newspaper or when you have on the radio.
Advertisers know that there is a vast difference between advertising in a newspaper than on social media. When it comes to advertising products and services, social media simply does not make the grade. Social media cannot do for advertisers what newspapers, radio and television do.
Many traditional media houses, however, do capitalise on the additional reach provided by social media. Kaieteur Radio airs a programme called The Glenn Lall Show on both radio and on Facebook. On the latter alone, it averages more than 20,000 viewers per night. On radio, however, the reach is about five times that number.
The traditional media also exercises greater responsibility. Social media operatives do not carry the same obligation as newspapers to fact-check stories, and because of the nature of the stories carried, which is mainly to provide instant news, other dimensions of an issue are often absent.
Social media reporting is like fast food. It is popular, already prepared and can be picked up easily. But it is not a credible source of information. It is neither thorough nor comprehensive as, for example, a newspaper report. Bloggers can never take the place of expert columnists.
Nonetheless, social media is presenting challenges to the traditional media. And this is what I believe is responsible for the Guyana Press Association seeking to make a distinction between traditional journalists and what it calls social media influencers.
Social media, however, is part of the ongoing process of technological change. And the traditional media has to adapt if it is to survive. It is not going to get by, by simply seeking to put-down social media, especially when many of those on social media were or are still in the traditional newspaper, radio and television business.
The traditional media has to adapt. Journalists in the traditional media have to be far less concerned now with simply supplying information and more concerned with in-depth investigative reporting and analyses.
Instead of trying to put down social media operatives, the Guyana Press Association should stop “thinging and thinging”. It should “get with the programme”.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)
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