Platforms offer new connections and story leads but burnt-out reporters are increasingly disconnecting. What can newsrooms do to support them?
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Like it or loathe it, social media is important for journalists and newsrooms alike. It offers a way to discover audiences, find stories and amplify content. But it comes with many drawbacks too, ranging from online abuse to invading our personal lives.
This notion of a double-edged sword is the focus of a new book, The Paradox of Connection, which considers how a hyper-connected digital media landscape is impacting journalists. It finds that at a time when social media holds so much promise, journalists are disconnecting from platforms because of the bad conditions there. And many are quite relieved to be pulling the plug.
In this week's podcast, we speak to co-author Valérie Bélair-Gagnon, also the director of undergraduate studies at the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, about why this is happening and how to safeguard the journalists at risk of disconnecting.
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