The Emergence and Impact of Social Media on the Mainstream Journalism in Bangladesh
Sheikh Adnan Fahad
Abstract
The evolution of journalism is concomitant with that of technology. If printing machine was a major breakthrough in the history of journalism, the emergence of the Internet, especially social media, in the last two decades has changed the nature of journlaism to a significant extent. In the West, social media like Facebook and Twitter has already had a huge impact on the mainstream journalism in terms of information gathering and the writing and disbursing of news items. The interactivity options of the social media has borught journalists and the mass close and interdependent. Social media has been gradually becoming an alternative source of information. The present article presents and analyses some instances to examine whether Bangladesh news media is being influenced by the information, pictures and videos presented in various social media. However, approaching the potentiality of social media as means of information should be approached with caution; indformation dissemination through social media is questionable while quesitons of ethics and proffesionalism may not always be sufficiently effective to guide the journalists for journalism in the changed reality of internet era. This article will also put forward some recommendations of guidelines regarding role of journalists regarding the use of information in the field of social media to make effective and responsible news reports.
Keywords
Social Media, Mainstream Journalism
Full Text
Sheikh Adnan Fahad is Lecturer in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Email: sheikhadnanfahad@yahoo.com