ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the ethics of social media uses and how social media have changed journalistic norms and methods. It focuses on Twitter and Facebook, but there is a seemingly endless parade of social media platforms and services, from Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest for photography, to Vine and YouTube for video, to Tumblr and Reddit for amalgams of socially and non-socially mediated content. The social media spaces are growing into virtual newsrooms of sorts, or at least spaces that have, or include, news feeds and conversations about the news, newsrooms in which the primary news gatherers and sharers work for free. Regardless, the site should make it easy to follow the news on Twitter and Facebook and perhaps other social media tools and platforms, as well. Tweeting, liking, following, and becoming a fan are not the only social engagement conversions organizations can encourage, but given the reach of Twitter and Facebook, they are arguably the most important.
