Tweeting, friending, reporting: Social media use among journalism academics, students and graduates in the Asia-pacific

Abstract

This reflective article describes and analyses the use of Facebook and Twitter over a five-year timeframe by two journalism academics in Australia, whose industry and research expertise are in the Asia-Pacific. The use of social media has made possible for journalism educators an active electronic space in which to conduct discourse on development, publication, networking and career opportunities with students and alumni. This discourse and the educators, students or alumni who engage in it reflect the nature of the global media industry as inherently network-based (in contrast to employment approaches found in other industries such as graduate programmes in commerce, law or engineering). Because it operates using electronic communication, such discourse also reflects the industry which journalism graduates seek to enter as not being geographically confined to one city or state within Australia—instead, reflecting a rapid rate of movement between cities and states, or between countries, or between urban and rural locations. Using active participant observation, the researchers argue that social media can be used to develop and retain links with their students and alumni, by making use of the social connectedness that is coming to characterise communication. The researchers were early adopters of Facebook and Twitter communication with students. The article argues that social media has been beneficial in the conduct of these activities while exploring the use of social networking in relation to the politics of ‘friending’ or ‘following’ and ‘being followed’ by students.