From News Breakers to News Followers: The Influence of Facebook on the Coverage of The January 2010 Crisis in Jos

Abstract

In an era when the news media is affording easy access to packaging and dissemination of information, the social media has become popular avenue for sharing information for good or ill. It is evident that the traditional role of journalists 'news breakers' is fast being eroded, this tea the experience of journalists in Jos, Plateau State in January, 2010, when another of the recurring ethnoreligious crisis that engulfed the state occurred. This paper examined the role of 'Facebook’ on the work of journalists who covered the 2010 crisis, 'Taking the uses and gratifications perspective. it interrogated the extent to which 'Facebook' impacted their professional duty. The study employed survey to elicit information from 37 journalists (Correspondents) using questionnaire as instrument. The paper revealed that the dissemination of false and inaccurate information via Facebook aggravated the crisis. It recommended that journalists must uphold their 'gatekeeping' role to remain relevant.