The rise of the multimedia journalist and the role of social media in jounalism

More and more individuals are connecting with each other and engaging on social media than ever before.

Chapter 10 of Anthony Adornato’s “Mobile and Social Media Journalism: A Practical Guide” delves into the heart of the Mobile and Social Media Journalism course — it emphasizes the importance of building a solid social media presence as young journalists.

At least in my opinion, it’s easy to overlook the importance social media plays in the mass media industry. According to 2023 data by Statista, there are over 4.3 billion social media users globally. In a 2022 study also conducted by Statista, 38% of Generation Z reported spending four or more hours daily on social media — more than double the daily time spent on social media than adults of other generations.

As a member of Gen Z, I concur. My screen time is abysmal (though to be fair, most of my time is spent bouncing between different Chrome tabs for school); my presence on social media is even more so. Yet most of it is spent mindlessly scrolling through TikTok thirst traps or checking what my friends are up to on Instagram. I knew that by choosing to study journalism, I would need to inevitably reexamine my social media presence and pivot to something more professional. Yet, it’s something I unfortunately found myself putting on the backburner until this semester.

My current phone screen time for this week. At least it's down 31% from last week?

As Adornatto discusses in this chapter, a young journalist’s presence can help make or break their career. Now more than ever, it is important for journalists to not only be skilled in writing and reporting, but in posting and promoting on social media platforms — knowing what works and what doesn’t. Many of the digital skills discussed in this chapter, like understanding visual storytelling, engagement reporting, user experience and data are all topics we’ve covered to some extent in class.

This chapter also brings up the idea of the multimedia journalist, which is someone who is capable engaging in all elements of the storytelling process. They are someone who is capable of writing and reporting as well as taking photos and video, publishing to social media and engaging with online audiences. Whereas journalists of the past had specific roles in the newsroom, the lines between what an individual is required to do or know is becoming more blurred; the more successful multimedia journalists are the ones who are essentially capable of becoming jacks of all trades.

Social media, when used for good, is an incredibly powerful tool for journalists. I often find myself scrolling through journalism Twitter, analyzing how different journalists engage with audiences and build their own brand. I’m guilty of treating Twitter like a portfolio of sorts in the past — only retweeting my stories from The Ithacan and not engaging with communities. This class has challenged the way I use social media by encouraging me to actively seek out and facilitate conversations about the issues and communities I’m reporting on. I’ve been able to add more personality to my online presence by showing audiences that I am actively interested in what I’m covering and that I am welcome to having conversations.

My Twitter account. I think its pretty neat. You should follow me @ElizabethKhar26

It’s also important to acknowledge the negatives in the digital first media mindset. Unfortunately in many cases, the need to be first on a story and publish information to social media outweighs journalist’s obligation to be accurate and objective. One of the most recent examples of this comes from the New York Times’ coverage of the Israel-Hamas War, in which the NYT posted an article with a headline attributing the deadly hospital explosion to Israeli forces. The NYT has since posted a correction, but it serves as a reminder that even the most prominent news organizations are not free from scrutiny.

As the digital landscape continues to evolve, so too will journalists need to reexamine their skillsets to best fit a changing market. While I have my own feelings regarding the commoditization of journalism and how it destroys creativity and journalistic integrity as a young journalist, I’ll hold off for now. What’s important is to remain open to change and to facilitate dialogue in newsrooms on how to best meet audience needs.