In his article on Forbes, Robert Wynne, writes “social media has great value as an amplifier.”  I agree that social media is used as an amplifier for PR and Journalism as journalists utilize social media for quick updates or more concise versions of their story, but I think that social media is becoming much more than an amplifier.  Wynne seems to be wary about the emergence of social media in PR, calling it “low end”.  I feel that the PR industry is evolving quickly and people are looking for their information digitally.  I personally rely on social media for news, entertainment, sports and so many other things.  Typically I’ll see something on social media and if it peaks my interest I then go to traditional media outlets to get more information.  For me, I initially began using social media as a way to interact with my friends, but it has evolved so much and become far more global.  I now see posts from all over the world and content has changed from updates on someone’s personal life to real time news.

Clay Shirky’s article focuses on the demise of print newspapers and asserts that print journalists must learn to use social media as a tool in the newsroom.  It is widely known that print journalism has become less prominent and digital news is thriving.  I think social media has a huge part in this.  Social media has changed the newsroom and our daily lives as we can get information instantly and no longer have to wait for stories to be printed.  We can access anything we want within seconds.  As for the future of journalists, I agree with Shirky that they must become well versed in the world of social media.  Although print journalist is declining, the print publications that remain need to utilize social media better as it will likely help their print publications survive.  Social media allows direct access to the public and it’s a very powerful tool for journalists.

In The People Formerly Known as the Audience, the article says “Social-media technologies allow a far wider range of people to take part in gathering, filtering and distributing news.”  I think this best sums up how social media has impacted the industries of PR and journalism.  Not only is information instant, but it is more widespread.  Social media allows us to know what is going on all over the world, as opposed to traditional media that is typically locally focused.

These articles really focused on the impact that social media has had on PR and journalism.  I think that a lot of times the emergence of social media in regards to PR and journalism is talked about in almost a negative light as it is attributed to job loss in the industry, but I don’t actually think it is a negative thing at all.  Times are changing and I feel that the social media will become an even more prominent tool in the future and the PR and journalism industry professionals need to adjust to these changes in order to succeed.  There are so many benefits to using social media for PR and Journalism.  This article touches on some of the ways social media can be useful for PR professionals.  One that I found really interesting is identifying brand threats.  Public opinion is always easily found on social media and keeping up with it is extremely important in PR.