Date of Award
1-1-2020
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A. in Journalism
First Advisor
Iveta Imre
Second Advisor
Kristen A. Swain
Third Advisor
Joseph B. Atkins
School
University of Mississippi
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
For the last several years, the newspaper industry in Bangladesh has been using social media for disseminating news and connecting with readers. But the question remains how the social media journalists are using these social media accounts and what roles they perform every day in the newsrooms. This exploratory study sheds light on both issues through the lens of the Gatekeeping Theory. Following interviews with 13 social media journalists who worked for 11 national newspapers in Bangladesh, the study found that the overall traditional gatekeeping roles of these journalists had undergone substantial changes as they were heavily concerned about audience demands and reactions. Social media journalists also feel pressured from their bosses, advertisers, and the audience to maintain their gatekeeping roles. These journalists even considered their jobs as “marketing” or “selling” of news and experienced volatile treatments from their colleagues in the newsrooms. Although they are in charge of multiple jobs alongside managing the newspapers’ websites, most of them had no prior training of any sort in social media management.
Recommended Citation
Alam, Ahmed Shatil, "How Newspapers' Social Media Editors In Bangladesh Use Official Social Media Accounts" (2020). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1869.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/1869