The origin of stories: how journalists find and create news in an age of social media, competition and churnalism: future of journalism

Abstract

Newsgathering is an increasingly technological practice, and professional newsgathering is also increasingly under fire from amateur competition in the form of “citizen” or “participatory” journalism. In the public eye the debate is often framed as the “death of traditional journalism” and the rise of the new “digitally empowered” masses. Journalists are increasingly being told that they need to use these new tools to connect with audiences, and news organisations encourage journalists to use tools which are considered to be more efficient, more time-saving and therefore a cost-saving to the news organisation. Within the context of this changing environment, this qualitative study examines the ways in which journalists use social media as a news gathering tool. Using a multi-dimensional analysis, incorporating participant observation, semi-structured interviews, content and document analysis at one UK national daily, the study determines the source of all stories published during one week, and the mechanisms used by the journalists to cover them. The conclusion of the study is that overwhelmingly, journalists follow traditional methods of finding and making news, and that the use of interactive and social media as a newsgathering tool is effectively non-existent in the newsroom. Although the journalists are aware of social media and its potential, the pressures of work and the speed with which the newsroom has to function has worked against any experimental or alternative newsgathering practices.