The Use of Social Networks by British Media The Telegraph and BBC News

Abstract

<p><strong><em>The aim</em></strong> <em>of the work is to identify the characteristics of selected social networks and study their use as a channel for disseminating information, interacting with the audience and creating a positive image of the media by the British online media.</em></p><p><strong><em>Research methodology.</em></strong><em> Theoretical and empirical methods were used to conduct the study. In particular, the analysis of scientific research on the topic of the article, the historical method, the method of comparison. Among the empirical methods in the research process, the method of systematic study and analysis of media pages in social networks, descriptive-analytical and induction methods, as well as the method of generalization were used. At the first stage, the scientific literature of Ukrainian and foreign researchers on the use of social networks in modern journalism was analyzed. Based on statistics, the most popular British media for analysis were The Telegraph and BBC News. Then, using the method of content analysis, generalization and comparison, the analysis of the use of social networks by the above-mentioned media was carried out.</em><em></em></p><p><strong><em>Results.</em></strong><em> Among the popular online media in the UK are analyzed in this article BBC News and The Telegraph. They are examples of quality journalism and have long used social networks in their activities. Now these media are most represented on Facebook, Youtube, Instagram. Facebook, Youtube and Instagram use the media for various purposes: disseminating news in a socially accessible form, attracting new young audiences, promoting their own brand and interacting with users. Analyzing the pages of BBC News and The Telegraph on these social platforms, we can conclude that the media do not use all the possible functionality of social networks and use them only to disseminate and store information.</em></p><p><strong><em>Novelty.</em></strong><em> The novelty of this work is that it attempted to analyze the use of social networks by the British online media BBC News and The Telegraph. The study found that the British media BBC News and The Telegraph, in addition to the dissemination channel, also use the opportunities of social networks to promote the media brand.</em></p><p><strong><em>Practical significance.</em></strong><em> The information obtained can be used in further monitoring and research of the impact of social networks on journalism and their interaction with the media.</em></p><p><strong><em>Key words:</em></strong><em> social networks, media, audience, popularity, information.</em></p>