The Next Step: Social Media and the Evolution of Journalism

Abstract

This dissertation examines the effect of social media on the professional field of journalism. In history, there have been several occasions where introductions of technology have disturbed the journalistic sphere. After a period of unrest, the technology merged with journalism, evolving the field in a moment of punctuated equilibrium. In the past century, this has been observed with the introductions of radio and television. Social media technologies have shown many indications of being the next occurrence of this evolution. Blogs, Twitter, web forums, Facebook, Podcasts, and YouTube offer natural opposition to newspapers, radio and television, and their disturbance can already be felt in falling advertising revenues and circulation numbers. Indications of the coming convergence between traditional and social media can already be seen, which this dissertation will explore.