THE IMPACT OF USING SOCIAL MEDIA AS A NEWS REPORTING PLATFORM AMONG JOURNALISM STUDENTS AT MAASAI MARA UNIVERSITY

Abstract

ABSTRACT The growth of the Internet has changed the way newsrooms across the world operate. At the heart of the new developments is the growing presence of traditional media of newspaper, magazines, radio and television online. Media houses have formed digital divisions solely tasked with operating their websites and social media handles. This study sought to find out how this changing technology is changing how young adults access news and information. This study picked the journalism students at Maasai Mara university since they are the most likely batch to find out what is going on in the country and also the readily available population. Respondents from the University were selected from the department of media, film and communication cutting across all years of study. This study sought to answer the following questions: How have social media changed operations in Kenyan newsrooms? What are the effects of social media use on traditional journalism pillars of objectivity, accuracy and verification? The study found that journalists have embraced the use of social media in the news gathering and dissemination process. This is, however, tempered by a cautious approach to the use of social media in news gathering and uncertainty over the effectiveness of gate keeping checks in place to ensure that social media use in the newsroom remains true to key journalistic tenets of fairness, objectivity and accuracy