In an age where nearly anyone can create and publish content via social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, once-passive consumers have forced the Fourth Estate to find new strategies for communicating and disseminating news.
The interconnectivity that accompanied the advancement of interpersonal technologies has allowed information to spread expeditiously. Citizen journalists continue to capture local and global audiences through firsthand accounts of breaking news in real-time. While it may be easy to marvel at the incredible rate at which people share knowledge, one would be remiss to exclude the byproducts of most people being able to access social networks.
Disinformation (shared with the intent to deceive) and misinformation (sharing falsehoods and inaccuracies that seem factual or otherwise true) have slighted news at a viral pace. “Both forms often involve widespread dissemination, whether or not the person sharing is aware of the inaccuracies,” according to Insider.
The Mobile-first Mindset
The public is also getting their news in ways they never have before. At this stage of the Digital Revolution, the relationship between journalists and news consumers is highly interactive. This has transformed the way in which people consume news. Unlike the traditional dynamic, both groups are in constant dialogue with one another. Social media platforms have become forum-like spaces where people discuss the news and provide feedback on how media outlets frame their coverage. Audiences often access traditional platforms from social media directly as opposed to navigating to news sites and then consuming content.
Changing consumer habits have transformed how media outlets produce and publish content, leading to the widespread adoption of what is known as the mobile-first mindset. The mobile-first, or digital-first, approach incorporates consumers’ contemporary habits into the content-production and publishing process.
Multiplatform hubs of content
Think of media outlets as engagement engines that operate across different mediums.
Audience experience
Increasingly so, journalists are engaging in social listening to optimize the user experience. Social listening involves crowdsourcing stories and responding to audiences’ questions or feedback.
Evolving business models
Newspapers, television and radio—among others—have vastly changed their operations in recent years. Social integration, mobile apps, newsletters and modified advertising/sponsorship approaches underscore these changes.
Digitally focused strategies are replacing traditional methods, and journalists can adapt to this transformation by heeding the mobile-first mindset.
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