Social media usage habits of journalists and ethical oversight in social media: Antalya province example

Abstract

Rapid development of new communication technologies has initiated a new process which can be called as “metamorphosis” in journalism as well as in almost all areas. As the definition of journalism changes in the age of internet where borders of communication disappear, journalists who see internet as an emergent news medium as well as a news source has adopted to this transformation. On the one hand, social Networks enable citizens to “make news”, on the other hand, these networks also enable journalists to publish their own news, photos and views through their own accounts on the outside of organizations they work. In this context, social networks have grew into platforms which journalists often use for both professional news production and personal sharings. As a result, several media organizations introduced some rules and principles regarding their own employees’ use of social media. As such, a versatile news media, where ethical principles have become more important than ever, have come into existence. These developments show that social media have become a news environment more swift and dynamic than the traditional media; however, they also entail the need for interrogation of ethical principles in this dynamism. In this study, we deal with how journalists regardsocial media as a news source and their approach to news on the social media. In this study which implements the method of survey, social media use habits of journalists in Antalya will be examined and approaches of journalists to subjects such as internet-social media, news and ethics will be analysed.