The Future of Journalism in a Technology Ridden World
Out with the old, in with the new: Say hello to the new era of journalism
As more journalists continue to turn to social media for reporting, the journalism we used to know would change forever.
Earlier last month, I interviewed Univision San Antonio’s meteorologist Gabriel Torres. We discussed his social media strategies, target audiences and the fate of traditional journalism.
“Millennials don’t need social media, social media needs millennials,” Torres said. “Because of social media takeover, television news will eventually disappear.”
According a study in 2017 by Pew Research Center, Americans who get news from TV declined from 57% in early 2016 to 50% in 2017. On the other hand, Americans who get their news from news websites/apps or social media, grew from 38% in early 2016 to 43% in 2017.
This shift in gears means there’s new things to consider: How can one appeal to an audience? What social media platform attracts a specific age range? What content is most appropriate for each separate platform?
The social media giants such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have become a staple and a household name. However, there is a new app that is gaining success rapidly: TikTok.
TikTok is a video sharing app that was released in 2016 and has been downloaded over 2 billion times. Over 63% of its users are between the ages of 10 and 29, where 30% of the audience are adolescents. The app rose to popularity because of the similarity of its predecessors: Musical.ly and Vine.
Younger audiences are less likely to tune in to TV news compared to older audiences, which means that captivating such audience in a way that interests them is very important.
According to Anthony Adornato, “A combination of photos and videos, tags and mentions, hashtags, and links can provide a powerful social media post — one that is rich in content for the audience.”
To Generation Z and millennials, the power of emotion goes a long way. Humor and heartwarming stories are their cup of tea.
From publications like the Washington Post and journalists like Max Foster, many are hopping into the TikTok train to deliver news in a modern way.
In this TikTok, Dave Jorgenson announces the emergence of the new Moderna vaccine in a celebratory way. He adds humor to it by dancing in a goofy manner to the hit song “I Feel Good” by James Brown.
In this TikTok, Max Foster is listing the countries that placed an alcoholic ban in order to mitigate COVID-19 cases. He uses a play on words. Every time Harry Styles sings ‘high’ in his song “Watermelon Sugar,” Foster waves at the camera to ‘introduce’ the country he is referring to.
With the rise, popularity and success of the app, there is no doubt that more journalists will be using TikTok in the future. Its features allow users to create content in a short, fun and creative manner.
If more people continue join the app and ride the social media journalism wave, TikTok has a high chance of becoming the #1 app where one can get informed.
