What are the main ethical challenges journalism is facing when embracing Social Media?

Comments posted in our Facebook discussion group.

I agree with Sergi that although social media can provide leads, but info needs to be checked. Another point I’ve noticed is that people’s tweets from months or years ago are sometimes used to try and weaken the perception of their character in articles. Tweets are easier to use out of context to try and make someone seem better or worse than you want. It’s something we all need to be careful of when posting.

Amy Hall

I agree with Becs… it’s a good way to find or follow a good story, but a journalist must alway check the information. I think that social media are the present and the future… My opinion is that journalists who works with social media are the working towards taking over old generations.

Sergi Caufapé

How journalists use social network

Journalists are, by nature, crafty folk who are wonderfully adept at stalking — I mean, finding sources and relevant information for various and sundry stories. Well, the advent of social media has made the process of reporting all the more nuanced, and has served as a vital channel for everything from finding leads to contacting sources to sharing and furthering one’s brand.

Still, as the Internet continues to expand, it can be difficult to pick and choose which tools are right for journalists — it can be daunting to litter one’s desktop with Twitter applications, social networks, location-based tools and blogs.

Tools such as Face book and Twitter serve as excellent filters for the masses of information circulating on the web. Although many journalists swear by Twitter as a method of spotting and filtering out trends, Face book can also function as a vital reporting tool.

Journalists gather lot of information through these social networking sites. Much of the news would not have been possible even without these social sites.

The Wonders of Facebook

BBC’s Panorama was on Egypt lastnight. There was an interesting scene where Jane Corbin was interviewing a couple of middle class Egyptian women who spoke of how Facebook saved their country.

If you click on the link below, it will take you to the BBC Panorama webpage. Though it is interesing, if you don’t want to watch it all, just move the timeline cursor to about 19.30 and watch from this time.

Panorama Egypt