After asking for twenty people in my surrounding from coworkers, friends and family, almost 98% people answered me, the news they often get mostly are from social media Platform for example: Twitter, Facebook, IG, Tiktok, etc. Rather than from traditional media form newspapers, television, etc. Judging from this small sample, I can draw a conclusion people are more into Social Media. Then how can this be happened?
According to Standandpoint article, social media has become such a big influence on the way we consume our information. It also stated unlike when you read a newspaper, or watch the television, social media allows us to instantly react and engage with other people who are interested in the same topic. There are fewer barriers within the world of social media, whereas sometimes mainstream media can be a little one-sided. Although news outlets are quick to report information to their audiences, social media is quicker.
But personally when it comes to news writing, I still prefer mainstream media than social media because in my opinion, almost 95 percent news that published in social media is written very perspective and subjective so often the contain is biased and might misinterpret by the readers and frequently provocative especially for sensitive issues. While Mainstream media, it has more systematic news reported standard such as how journalists should conduct and write their news.
According to Rick Dunham in Global Business Journalism, he stated there are few essentials traits basic for journalist should have when news writing.
Truth
Journalism is nothing without a solid bedrock of truth. Your writing must be accurate. But accuracy is not enough: Your stories must be true.
Clarity
Make sure your audience understands clearly what you are saying. The words you use should convey the meaning you intend. Be specific.
Completeness
Make sure you have included all of the most important and relevant details. Make sure you placed the main facts of the story into context.
Compelling storytelling
You are competing for your audience’s attention in a cluttered information world. Readers are easily distracted, especially when they are consuming your story on a mobile device. To keep their attention, your story must be better than good.
Tight writing
As Strunk and White wrote more than a century ago, “Omit needless words.” Be concise. Keep your sentences short.
Precision
Use the right word to convey the right meaning. Avoid vague verbs such as “to have,” “to be,” “to do” or “to get” when you can be more specific. Avoid over-general words such as “some” or “many” or “a lot.”
Fairness, balance and responsibility
Ethics are a core value of journalism. Your stories, even opinion pieces, should be fair. You should provide context for breaking news. Multiple points of view should be considered, although you have no obligation to give equal space to everyone. The “target” of a critical story should be given an opportunity to respond before publication. Fairness sometimes includes truth-telling and fact-checking. It is your responsibility to report the truth, not to repeat the assertions of powerful people.
Transparency and honesty
You must be straight with your audience if you expect them to trust you. Don’t steal material from others. Properly attribute all material (facts and quotations) that you found on other platforms.
Real reporting
Don’t expect to write a complete report if you have not done some first-hand reporting. A pandemic is not an excuse: You owe it to your readers to gather facts yourself. Don’t just repeat what you saw in a report or a press release. Don’t “curate” the best work of other journalists.
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