How Social Media Has Transformed Journalism: The Guardian’s Digital Turning Point and Its Aftermath

This book explores the influence of social media on the transformation of institutional journalism. Grounded on a case study of The Guardian in the UK, the work is an in-depth look at how a leading news organisation navigated the challenges of the social media era. Drawing on interviews with Guardian journalists, Papanagnou demonstrates that the major change that social media effected on journalism has been the inculcation of journalists with the logic of branding. Journalists now actively brand themselves and their organisations as authoritative voices on public affairs; they emphasise their expertise in the stories they share across platforms, leveraging their reputations to establish credibility and connect with like-minded audiences.

Ultimately, the author argues that the turn to branding represents a pragmatic solution to the problem that social media companies posed for journalism. By embracing networking technologies, journalists and their organisations have become increasingly tethered to big-tech. And, lacking the immense technological and financial resources of the digital platforms, news brands and their journalists have sought to counteract this dependency by wielding the power of their journalistic reputations.

Vaios Papanagnou is Assistant Professor of Communication and Media Studies at the American University in Dubai. His research focuses on digital journalism, social media, and the cultural dynamics of contemporary media.