The need to design a protocol for the activities of journalists in social networks – Mehr News Agency | Iran and world’s news

Mehr news agency, Culture and Thought Group_ Fatemeh Torkashvand: What makes journalists’ activity on their personal social media pages more under the microscope than their activity on the official media? The answer to this question can be very crucial in determining how the formal and informal media interact, because in this two-way relationship, issues such as personal and media credibility, professional frameworks, and most importantly, the speed of publication with news validation time are involved. is drawn.

The two conversations that we previously published in the form of monitoring files on the activities of journalists and media people on Twitter with Mehdi Khanalizadeh, the director of the Prestivi website, and Elham Abedini, the translator and foreign correspondent of the Sima News Network, can be accessed and read at the following links:

* Traps attract the attention of media activists and officials

* From subject matter to connecting with foreign experts on Twitter

In the third issue of the case, we spoke with Mehdi Bakhtiari, the political director of Tasnim News Agency, to talk about the need for the media to design and review the protocols they have for their journalistic activities on social media. Tasnim’s political director believes that expediencies and excessive conservatism have caused our official media to lag behind social media and even rival media in the speed of news coverage of cyberspace.

You can read the details of this conversation below.

* What is the difference between your activity on Twitter and the official media?

The most important difference is that you have to speak a little more formally in the news agency and the press, which means that you can not work on any news because the credibility and accuracy and other criteria that are required must be observed in the official media. But on social networks, especially Twitter, where real people are active, the hand is naturally more open. This means that you can publish information outside of those frameworks, even in the form of hearsay, which may or may not be possible in the official media.

Of course, journalists also face limitations in cyberspace, but in my opinion, these limitations are less. I think the biggest difference is that it makes this space especially attractive to journalists because it can make them a brand and a separate source of news from their official media.

In this branding process, do journalists get their credit from the official media in which they work or from their personal activities on social networks such as Twitter?

Of course, if a journalist works in cyberspace, not everything can be said to be the product of his or her true personality. Of course, if I post a news item on Twitter that is cited, at least in the beginning, my legal personality caused it to be cited. That is, as the editor or even the reporter of a particular media outlet, they may not even mention your name at all, but only mention with your legal title that the reporter or editor of a certain newspaper has published this news.

Of course, there are some cases where some do not work in the official media, but are so active that they eventually get this position. This also happens bilaterally, meaning that the journalist’s personal reputation can also gain credibility for his or her media, and it is not the case that they are separate. This dependence sometimes causes problems because the person is working in the media but operating outside the framework of their official media. These kinds of activities create challenges, but the exact reason is that our media have not yet designed any protocol for their activities in cyberspace.

* Where do you think you have gained more credit? Twitter or your official media?

People like me and my colleagues who work on Twitter with our own names and photos, bring this network to our personal reputation. The reporter may have worked for many years in the official media, but his name may not even be mentioned above, but on Twitter or a personal channel in your own name, even if you work for a news agency and even cite the source, it is still circulating. You will see that the news is published quoting you or on your behalf. This is also two-way and not zero, but there is a value that in the social network, the name of the person is central.

* In which of these media do you feel most effective?

I consider both effective. Because when we work in a newspaper or a news agency, it is true that our names may not be mentioned, but in any case, that news has its effect. In cyberspace, the effect of news is also central and that its circulation speed is higher and naturally more effective. But overall, the impact is much higher on social media and cyberspace right now, and if news is to be promoted, it will go up on Twitter first. This creates a wave that the media is following.

Now, unfortunately or fortunately, the move has been made in the direction that the official media is looking for cyberspace. It may be unavoidable, because there the news circulates much more, much faster and much more nakedly, in the sense that the news, right or wrong, is published without any framework and causes the official media to follow it. For this reason, I think the new media is more effective.

* Has there ever been a conflict between the official media and you personally?

It happened to me and my colleagues. You see, sometimes a reporter thinks that if I publish news in cyberspace, it is my personal space and I can say anything. However, all professional and major media in the world have frameworks and protocols for their reporters’ activities on social networks and communication. This means that a journalist should not be able to put anything 180 degrees in his personal media, contrary to what he has published in his official media. Unfortunately, this is not the case in Iran. Only a few have started a little. However, the general atmosphere in the country is that journalists consider their legal personality to be completely separate from their real personality. Of course, I am not saying that the journalist’s hand should be tied, but at least it should be observed. The media need to define professional frameworks because this process is challenging for both themselves and their colleagues in the media space.

* In what area do you think social media has helped your work in the official media? Subjectivity, communication with people or …

For the media people, I think it is more useful to get the subject, because in the mass of news and rumors and the publication of documents, recognizing which one can create a wave, usually happens in these networks. Even television is now a hot topic in these spaces.

* What effect has filtering had on the activities of media people on Twitter?

Talking about filtering in this period and time is basically a very pointless thing in my opinion. Its effectiveness is really very small and negligible. Maybe in the 60’s and 70’s, if you did not want news to be published, it was enough to ban newspapers from publishing it, but now that people have access to all domestic and foreign media, they can easily have everything, how can you think of filtering? ? Once a barrier to satellite jamming, it can now access all sites in the most remote villages with a phone and a filter breaker.

I think we are still going the wrong way. Instead of filtering, we should change the methods and remove all the burden from this filtering, which is not really effective. The effect is also the opposite, because the more people distance themselves from the internal media of the system, the more they will turn to the opposition media. I do not think this policy is really right, although I do not know if they have any proper alternative policy.

* Are traditional media going to fall victim to new media over time?

“Victim” is not the right phrase. Wherever you want to work, you have to adapt to new circumstances. That’s everything. We need to update ourselves and use cyberspace for our purposes. Note that the official media may get 50 likes and two retweets when they publish the news with their own media account and several million followers on Twitter, for example, but if the same article is done by a reporter of the same media, you will see hundreds of thousands of lines and republishing. These requirements must be recognized and used. Our goal is to provide news feed to the people and we should not depend on a particular format. People may not open the news agency’s website once, but they receive the news on its telegram channel. The important thing is to update, otherwise we will lose the rhyme.

* Do you have any special experience in mind that the publication of a tweet has marked a special event for you in every way?

There have been many cases, especially during the election days. It usually takes a while from the time the result is announced until it is officially announced that there is a gap between the release of unofficial news, which is usually highly reflective and highly relevant to journalists or cyber activists I have experienced myself.

Another thing I remember was the night of Sardar Soleimani’s martyrdom, between one and a half o’clock in the morning until about 3:30 and 4 in the morning when the news was officially announced, and I myself tweeted when I was sure that the news was true. I saw how much it is cited. In these cases, my experience is that the official media stays out of cyberspace because it seeks to verify the news, verification, and other issues.

* Is this good or bad?

It cannot be said that it is bad because the official media must be accurate and correct, but the problem is that part of staying here is not just because of these correct criteria. I feel that our media are severely affected by a kind of internal self-censorship, that is, if they are completely sure of the accuracy of the news, they still do a lot to publish it. This is where the opponent’s hand rises because at a distance when you are expedient, the competitor has published the news in its own form. It is necessary to think about this weakness.