Viral news from social media quick to jump to mainstream outlets

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Viral news from social media quick to jump to mainstream outlets
Asina Pornwasin
@lekasina 

 

BANGKOK: -- Social media networks have become a major source of stories for the mainstream media in Thailand. Most of the viral talk of Bangkok eventually ends up being published or broadcast in some form on a variety of platforms including websites, television, radio and newspapers. Indeed, social media doesn't just follow news trends, more commonly it sets them.

For example, the recent story about actress Janie Thienphosuvan and her now ex-husband Chonsawat "Ae" Asavahame was premiered on social media and it eventually became front-page news in many newspapers.

It is not uncommon for hot topics to be picked up and given prominence by mainstream media. Unfortunately, in most cases, these viral reports are not verified by due journalistic process. It is all too common for reporters to just copy from social media and paste into their stories without applying their professional skills and checking the facts.

Mana Treelayapewat, a journalism lecturer at University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said that the Thai media is now actively and openly using social media for stories, but that journalists sometimes fail in their duty to report with accuracy.

"It is no secret that Thai media now often picks hot topics from social media without thoroughly scrutinising, verifying, checking, and balancing the information before publishing," said Mana. "They often just 'copy and paste' the content directly from social media. This is not news reporting as we should understand it."

Moreover, he said this reporting -publishing or broadcasting viral stories from social media without adding value or checking facts - was of little benefit to society and not very useful information for news audiences.

It also created a blurred perception between rumour and news, as well as hearsay and fact. By reneging on their responsibility to be a reliable source of information, mainstream outlets risked becoming the tool of marketers and celebrities who clearly intend for certain stories to go viral.

"The role of mainstream media is to verify facts before publishing or broadcasting it as news. If they pick up viral stories from social media and immediately publish and broadcast them without verifying them, it should not be taken seriously as news, although the appearance of such stories in the mainstream media gives them an unwarranted legitimacy," Mana said.

But it's not all doom and gloom. Kom Chad Luek was acclaimed for a story it ran on the GT200 bomb detector scandal, which was originally sourced from social media. The paper used proper journalistic processes to develop the story, which led to it winning the 'Best News Award' from the Isra Amantakul Foundation and the Thai Journalists Association.

Due journalistic process is always required when mainstream media outlets utilise social media as a source of stories. Mana urged reporters and news organisations to stay true to the professional standards of their field rather than focusing on driving traffic and ratings.

Many recent examples of social media driving news appear to fall short of what one might expect from journalists. For example, a news story that was concocted using a private chat message from a group of celebrities using the popular platform LINE didn't seem to match up with any notion of solid journalistic standards or ethics.

Social media is here to stay and it is only going to grow further, as a source of news stories also. Therefore, it is incumbent on journalists employed by organisations that the public trusts that they will use the resource professionally and wisely.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Viral-news-from-social-media-quick-to-jump-to-main-30240060.html

 

[thenation]2014-08-02[/thenation]

[ChrisY1]

It's much easier than going out looking for stories......Facebook, Line etc......great for Thailand and it's journalists!

[WhizBang]

Or to put it another way, Thai journalists (and I use that word very loosely) are lazy.

[HUAHIN62]

The question is, are they still using the GT 200 ? The problem with Thai MSM like most MSM these days are that there are no follow up. They are living from one hype story to the next without the determination of a pit bull to see a story through.

[FangFerang]

Social media has taken control of information from the mainstream.....now stories can go viarl without anyone's approval.  The powers that be do not approve at all.

[FangFerang]

Social media has taken control of information from the mainstream.....now stories can go viarl without anyone's approval.  The powers that be do not approve at all.

[rickirs]

Colonel Weerachon Sukhondha-patipak, a spokesman for the ruling military junta, answered in response to whether the junta believed that forbidding some people from expressing their opinions would be effective in stopping people from holding those views.

"...the junta is taking a hard line against such expression now because it would not be productive for national reconciliation. However, .... later along the reform process ... differing opinions would be welcome to allow everyone to participate in reform."

 

As long the Junta maintains strict censorship of all media forms, "due journalistic process" is meaningless. So what difference does it make currently if social media  appears to fall short of solid journalistic standards or ethics.There is no unbiased and unprejudiced counterbalance to promote such standards and ethics.


 

[belg]

hub of gossip, half stories, rumours

 

[rubl]

...

As long the Junta maintains strict censorship of all media forms, "due journalistic process" is meaningless. So what difference does it make currently if social media  appears to fall short of solid journalistic standards or ethics.There is no unbiased and unprejudiced counterbalance to promote such standards and ethics.

 

 

Totally disagree.

 

Even the news which is allowed and published should go through a journalistic process.

 

Also if journalists are allowed to get and grow lazy now, how would they 'rebounce' when restrictions are lifted?

 

PS I must be getting old, I still get my news through the grapevine 

Edited August 2, 2014 by rubl

[rubl]

Social media has taken control of information from the mainstream.....now stories can go viarl without anyone's approval.  The powers that be do not approve at all.

 

True, true.

 

Even in the UK the House of Lords communications Committee just published it's first paper with a.o.

 

"From our perspective in the United Kingdom, if the behaviour which is currently criminal is to remain criminal and also capable of prosecution, we consider that it would be proportionate to require the operators of websites first to establish the identity of people opening accounts but that it is also proportionate to allow people thereafter to use websites using pseudonyms or anonymously. There is little point in criminalising certain behaviour and at the same time legitimately making that same behaviour impossible to detect. We recognise that this is a difficult question, especially as it relates to jurisdiction and enforcement."

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201415/ldselect/ldcomuni/37/3702.htm 

[ldnguy]

Or to put it another way, Thai journalists (and I use that word very loosely) are lazy.

This happens all over the world. Just look at the news stories in the West - much of it straight out of social media or PR companies.

[MaxLee]

It's much easier than going out looking for stories......Facebook, Line etc......great for Thailand and it's journalists!

Yep, check Facebook pages such as "YouLike" "YouClip" and etc...

From traffic offenders, crazy b*** slapping crazy girls, you'll find everything what's going on in Thailand

and everything else is irrelevant biased... Edited August 2, 2014 by MaxLee