Yahoo – AFP,
Rob Lever, Sun, Nov 23, 2014
 |
Facebook
can tailor its feed to the interests of the individual, delivering a
mix of
world news, community events and updates about friends or family
|
Facebook's
move to fulfill its ambition to be the personal "newspaper" for its
billion-plus members is likely to mean more woes for the ailing news media.
The huge
social network has become a key source of news for many users, as part of a
dramatic shift in how people get information in the digital age.
Company
founder Mark Zuckerberg told a forum in early November that his goal is to make
Facebook's news feed "the perfect personalized newspaper for every person
in the world."
Zuckerberg
said that while a newspaper provides the same information to every reader,
Facebook can tailor its feed to the interests of the individual, delivering a
mix of world news, community events and updates about friends or family.
"It's
a different approach to newspapering," said Ken Paulson, a former editor
of USA Today who is now dean of communications at Middle Tennessee State
University.
"It's
neither good nor bad, but it's something a traditional newspaper can't
do."
With
Facebook, editorial decisions about what members see are made not by a
journalist, but an algorithm that determines which items are likely to be of
greatest interest to each person.
This may
concern the traditional journalism community, but even some media experts
acknowledge that Facebook appears to be able to deliver more of what people
want to see, in an efficient way.
"It's
intimate, it's relevant, it's extraordinarily timely and it's about you. That's
more than any newspaper can do," said Alan Mutter, a former Chicago daily
newspaper editor who is now a consultant for digital media ventures.
Mutter said
that as newspapers cling to their "ancient" business model,
organizations like Facebook are making the news more personal.
And he said
the trend will continue as younger readers shun print in favor of digital and
mobile platforms.
Algorithm
as editor?
Nikki
Usher, a George Washington University journalism professor specializing in new
media, said Facebook configures its news feed using an algorithm taking into
account tens of thousands of factors.
"Facebook
has all the data to tell you what all of your friends are reading, so you have
a better chance of seeing things that you are interested in," she said.
"The
reason Facebook has so many engineers and data scientists is to continually
make the algorithm better. The algorithm gets stronger as more people use
it."
Facebook is
a source of news for at least 30 percent of Americans, and a major driver of
traffic to news websites, according to a Pew Research Center study.
This gives
the social network enormous power over the news media, which is increasingly
dependent on traffic from Facebook and other social platforms.
Even though
Facebook is known for its computer coding, it still must make editorial
decisions, Usher points out.
"What's
scary is how reactive a position it puts news organizations, which are trying
to guess Facebook's next move," she said. "That's a lot of power to
put in a single organization."
Facebook,
Google and other tech firms jealously guard their algorithmic formulas. But
observers note that a single tweak of that formula can have important
consequences for news organizations.
"News
organizations are trying to build their strategy around trying to guess the
algorithm, and ultimately that's a losing strategy," Usher said.
Getting
'soul'
But with
traditional news media hurting, it remains unclear how the industry can support
the kind of journalism needed to keep people informed as it has in the past.
Mutter said
what people read may change -- it may be sponsored or subsidized in a way that
may or may not be transparent.
"It
won't necessarily be real journalism, but it will be content," he said.
Paulson
said that while Facebook can deliver much of the information from newspapers,
"it would be hard pressed to capture the soul" of traditional print
news.
"Freedom
of the press was established to keep an eye on people in power and inform the
community," he added. "There's a tremendous public spirit component
that you can't address with an algorithm."
Paulson
said that while Facebook is a useful platform for sharing, it will not
underwrite the kind of investigative journalism upon which newspapers often
pride themselves. With journalism retrenching, that weakens the entire
democratic process.
"We
get the kind of news we deserve and are willing to pay for," Paulson
added.
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