Social Media and Journalistic Independence

Do social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, facilitate or even enhance journalism’s democratic functions? Current research suggests they do. Prominent scholars portray social media as key drivers of an emerging news ecosystem, which revolves around public participation and democratic accountability (Benkler 2006; Jenkins, Ford and Green 2012; McNair 2006; Shirky 2008). Social platforms have been hailed as potential saviors of professional news production, allowing journalists to find new sources, engage directly with “the people formerly known as the audience, ” as well as trace their preferences and interests (Bruns 2008; Flew 2009; Gillmor 2004; Hermida 2011; Paulussen et al. 2007; Rosen 2006). Some scholars have argued that social media users and new computational techniques may relieve the press from part of its news reporting duties, leaving it free to concentrate on investigative journalism and quality news coverage (Anderson, Bell and Shirky 2012; Flew et al. 2012; Bruns 2011). In the sections below, we argue that even if social media allow users to contribute information and observations to professional news production, these platforms do not in and of themselves facilitate journalism’s proclaimed democratic role. In contrast to what