Ethics and Social Networking

The early days of the internet alone greatly expanded the grasp of news. Now, stories are coming faster, more abundant, and more accessible. However, with the rise of social networking, such as Facebook and Twitter, people have gained easy access to let their name be found and voice be heard. And with this accessibility being taken advantage of, journalism has undergone more changes. Changes in how to research and tell stories.

Whether people see social media as a venue for news, professional journalists must treat them so. Journalists must balance mutiple aspects: their image, safety, revealing news, being accurate. And if the balance is in order, social media can be a great assett. It's hard to be professional when you want to relax and be yourself in these social networks, but there is a rational explanation. Journalists throw themselves out there all the time as themselves. They're not actors, or writers, or anyone else pretending to be a fictional person or create peculiar circumstances. Journalists appear before people, stating their name and what they have been finding, and behind every story is their efforts and ideas. It gets to the point when we don't even see the journalist, we see the person. So when a journalist creates a personal account that is public for everyone to see, the public will still see the same journalist/person they think they know from watching. And it is the journalist's responsibility to never to break journalism rules or the public will distrust their news.

So, the news orginizations are right for creating exceptional rules to keep the balance. There are steadfast laws that will ensure no one sees a flaw in an employee and startn a negative reaction. Lose faith in a person, then the journalist, then the journalism company. I admit the rules are a bind for the employees, but because of their exposure and dedications the job brings to the audience, they cannot betray people by being bias and dishonest.

Also, social media is useful for finding news or finding a good angle. So, social media is not just a beautified trap that news workers must constantly be aware of, but also a pathway to useful information. With people constantly updating their status, there is bound to be news, and because the information is public, it proves to be a great tool for news companies. And because of the high demand and constant consumption of news these days, these tool cannot be compromised. Journalists will need to utilize social networks to search for news and approach subjects to learn more about certain news.

And when approaching other people through social media, it reinforces the law of appearing professional. Your information is just as accessible as theirs, and if you do not carry yourself as a respectable journalist, approaching subjects becomes much harder.

The TV, the newspapers, the internet, and magazines are so easily accessed. Social media is just as easily accessible and possibly even more frequently used. The news displayed on these sites are trusted just as much on any other source and must hold the same factors all news holds.