Class discussion on McQuail’s media policy paradigm shifts brought up important questions we should ask of the mainstream media today. One of the questions that interests me the most is what role does social media have in determining what the media thinks is important?
I think it’s evident that the mainstream media pays attention and responds to social media trends. A few examples:
- Iranian election protests in June 2009
- Citizen coverage of the 2008 President election
- The mainstream media has created social network pages to engage with audiences
- News stations report on popular YouTube videos, for example Fox 17 WXMI shared a YouTube video of a flashmob in Rosa Parks Circle
Certainly, social media meets McQuail’s concept of freedom of communication, a concept he feels is central to a communications policy model. However, I feel social media communication can easily fall victim to the spiral of silence. While social media provides an avenue for individuals to connect with niche groups, it is such a public forum that individuals can be harshly rebuked for posted opinions. For instance, if you search “Willow Palin Facebook,” you find 2,390,000 results in Google.
The mainstream news media certainly listens to social media because they report on what happens on the social networks. While this can be a powerful and useful tool for spreading information that otherwise would not be broadcast, it can also cause public relations and image nightmares for individuals, especially celebrities and public figures.
