Social News Sharing
How news is shared is also shaping the news industry. About 50% of adults who get news online receive that news through email or posts on social networking sites. After readers consume news online, the second most popular action to do is to share the news online (see slide deck at end of post). Again, this supports the conceit of news sharers as news authorities, since those who share news socially may be considered by friends to be trusted news sources.
It is important for news organizations and journalists to be part of online communities where news is shared, participate in online conversations, and share news themselves. Since 23% of the social networking users who get news online say they specifically get news from news organizations and individual journalists they follow in the social networking space, the industry appears to be moving in this direction.