The boom of new communicators, who are not journalists, generates much controversy within the journalistic sector
The Internet is a platform that gives a voice to those who want to be heard. It is a place where journalists can transmit information and can reach many people in the shortest possible time. It is also a place where those who are not accredited journalists can provide information and opinion. Social media is the favorite place of choice for these people.
Alejandro Reyes is a 24-year-old from Galicia. He has a degree in Geography and History but has always liked Journalism. He has two accounts (on Instagram and Twitter, with more than 12,000 followers in total) in which he has dedicated to reporting on basketball transfers, in addition to multiple analyses of different games. In the debate between new communicators and classic journalists, he thinks that there is room for both profiles and that each has its own market niche. In addition, the type of content they make is totally different, which should eradicate the envy that journalists usually have towards content creators or streamers.
“I think there is room for both. If you are a classic journalist who has been writing for years and Ibai Llanos appears, who is doing something crazy, it is normal to feel jealous or angry. But the profiles are different and each has its own audience. One writes and the other speaks for the camera. Probably, the classic journalist if he put himself in Ibai's place would not succeed and would not get the same diffusion, and vice versa. The journalist must accept the work of the streamers and work hard. Another different issue is the debate that Ibai or other streamers meddle in the journalism profession. The difference I see here is that the interviews conducted by streamers are more relaxed as if they were a chat. Whereas in the traditional press, in a radio interview, the interviewee is going to have detractors and people who share his point of view. The type of interview has a different objective, no doubt”.
Twitter is the social network par excellence when it comes to finding information, much more so than Instagram. In the social network of the little blue bird, Alex has obtained an exponential growth of followers, achieving more than 3000 followers in 2 years and numerous interactions in many of his tweets. The downside of social networks is how easy it is to spread hoaxes and the possibility that people without any knowledge are allowed to give their opinion on certain topics. He considers that social networks are a good place to obtain information, but you have to know which profile to read.
“Yes and no. That is to say, you have to know very well the accounts you are looking at. Even the most reliable profiles make mistakes. In my case, many people tell me that I am a serious account, practically all the information I upload is true. But a few days ago I said that Leandro Bolmaro signed for Barcelona because the press said so, but finally, he has gone to Tenerife. The main difference I see between classic journalism and online is that on the Internet a hoax can go much further because of its diffusion. Social networks are fine, as long as you have your key points where you know that you will always find the truth”.
Twitter, whose CEO is Elon Musk, announced a subscription called "Twitter Blue". This premium service allows users to edit tweets, position their messages in better positions to increase interactions, increase the maximum number of characters per tweet or insert longer and larger videos, among other functions. Nonetheless, many users have criticized this version for the price of its services and for the lack of control over the verified tweets of a person who may be contributing to disinformation.
“If I'm honest, I've looked a couple of times at what Twitter Blue is all about; and to this day, I'm still not clear on it. It bugs me a bit because I was asking for verification since I was in a big media (Solobasket) and had no luck. Now you see people with 500 followers, without relevant information, and with the blue tick. I don't really understand why you have to pay either, because it doesn't provide you with many extras other than editing tweets and advertising your tweets. I'm interested in my tweets reaching a lot of people, but I'm not going to pay anything. Let those who are interested see my tweets”.
The function of Alex's activity is to act as an intermediary, that is to say, he is dedicated to finding information that may not reach the general public and transmitting it so that his followers do not miss anything.
“For accounts like mine, my information comes through web portal crawling. I base my information on online press. When I want to talk about foreign information, I don't have a notebook with certain names, but I know which media I should look at. Other times, the information comes directly to you, from people who are concerned about it or people close to others. The search for information is another part of journalism that I like the most. If you want to be a good journalist, you have to be active every day, read as much as possible and expand your focus”.
Alejandro's adventure is the result of having been left with a thorn in his side for not having been able to study journalism years ago. In the future, he does not rule out studying a Master's Degree in Sports Journalism, without leaving aside his original studies.
“It all comes from a bad part, so to speak. The cut-off mark for Journalism in Selectividad had gone up one point compared to last year, and I was left out. Since Geography was something I liked and I had gotten a 10 in Selectividad, I decided to go that way. From there, I was left with a bitter taste in my mouth, and I opened the Instagram account (InsideBasket), as a personal goal to see how far I could go. As a result of that, I have been meeting people and players that I consider friends; contact with clubs, with representatives; and right now I'm doing what I like, without getting paid, which is the worst thing”.
Comments