A while back, I read a very interesting article debating the validity of social news sites. There is no denying that the old media machine is beginning to sputter – most notably newspapers. New media has begun to pull visitors away from traditional news outlets with free access to news, less advertising (sometimes) and features unique to the internet such as voting, discussing and recommending. Getting news on the internet is not, well, news at all, however social news is starting to catch on. By catching on, I do not mean our generation, we have been well aware of it for some time – I mean that the larger mainstream is slowly starting to hear whispers of such an idea. The interesting thing is that many people are trying to pit traditional news against social news – as if “there can be only one”. Rather, social news is a great addition to the genre of news which will only improve the public’s access to information.

Like I have brought up many times (perhaps too many) before, I do not own a TV, so the snippets of news from TV I take in are few and far between. Every now and then, I will get the chance to catch a short glimpse of cable news – it does not take long for me to tell I am not missing much. Nowadays, I get my news from NPR and a myriad of social news sites – I use the social news sites for breadth and NPR for depth. I personally feel more informed than I ever have. Many people feel that social news is just too amateur and lacks the true journalistic integrity of traditional media. I would like to think established news provides more professional, smarter content, but I just cannot get myself to believe it.

As many of us know, social news depends on traditional news for a large amount of their content. Because of that, one can argue that social news really is not in the business of news, but rather the delivering of news. Meanwhile, traditional news has become increasingly outdated in its delivery methods, but are still much more adept in the acquisition and recordation of actual news events. We all know what traditional news’ journalistic model has brought to the public, but here are a few things I believe social news is bringing to the table:

News Has Become More Democratic

Things we now take for granted on the internet (such as voting, commenting, linking, etc.) are an integral part of basically all social news sites. The model of traditional news flies right in the face of a democratic process. News in papers, TV and radio are highly curated on subjects that the media outlet thinks we want to know about. This model of picking and choosing information can lead to many potential problems and conflicts of interest. A fully democratic process of delivering news obviously depends on the community voting, however I have found the quality of the news chosen to be hot/popular/front-paged to be on par with mainstream news. Perhaps a little more techy, with more references to the Wii, but still very comparable.

The Source(s) of News Is Now Much More Diverse

As mentioned earlier, much of the content on social news is from actual traditional news sources – the only difference is, social news is not limited to them. The playing field has now been dramatically evened. Blogs and other alternative news sites make up a large part of the content on social news sites which allows a wider breadth of information. Many of the stories that are not covered by traditional news sources for various reasons are often picked up by these niche blogs/sites that could only survive on the internet.

I am not the only person concerned with all the buyouts happening in news media in recent years. The consolidation of information sources puts tremendous responsibility and power in very few hands. With social news, the exact opposite trend is occurring. Social news sites are popping up like weeds – many of which are adding something unique and helpful to the collection. This is just another point that differentiates social news from traditional news’ ever-consolidating/shrinking world. If the more popular social news sites run into problems or start failing the community, there will be a plethora of new options for people to choose from. This competition is healthy in basically every way and greatly benefits the individual’s ability to access information from independent sources.

Immediate, Direct and Uncensored Discussion Is Now Possible

I keep telling myself this is a good thing, although spending a few minutes on Digg will make even the most die-hard social news fan doubt it. Sure, the internet tends to bring out the most belligerent in 99% of us. Sure, intelligent discussion and discourse is a highly endangered species on many social news sites. However, the ability to have open conversations about important subjects is absolutely vital. Traditional media is basically nothing more than one large monologue, social news finally allows for a form of news that allows a conversation to go along with it.

Money and Ratings Much Less the Driving Force

Many people are under the opinion (including myself) that cable news greatly sacrifices their journalistic quality in exchange for ratings. News media outlets are, at the end of the day, businesses – so money is going to be an extremely important factor, if not the highest factor. Cable news, talk radio and other forms of traditional media many times does what it thinks will pull in the highest ratings – leading towards more of an entertainment model and less of a news model. Since social news essentially acts as a service to point people towards news, there is no interest in pushing particular subjects for ratings. The quality of the service and the community running it is what drives traffic and popularity. The recent events over at Digg just drive that home.

Philosophical Differences Greater Than Technical Differences

Social news vs. Traditional news less of a technological difference and more of a philosophical difference. There’s nothing stopping websites from closing down news submissions, voting, commenting, etc. In addition, there is nothing stopping CNN/FOX/MSNBC to make online voting impact news topics. The difference is almost completely on the side of philosophy, technology is just a means towards it.

Social News is Great, But Far From Perfect

Just like any other form of media, there are inherent problems that come along with them. Due to the democratic nature of social news, the model is vulnerable to mob rule as well as gaming (what I would define as an online equivalent to gerrymandering). Up to this point, these problems have tended to be the exception rather than the rule, but these sorts of issues put into question the validity of social news. One could argue that the Anna Nicole Smith media debacle on cable networks had all the same symptoms of a story with a life of its own. The only difference is, there is less recourse for the frustrated audience.

From my perspective, social news’s pros far outweigh its cons. While many people see social news and traditional news as rivals, each battling the other for survival; I see the two pushing each other’s limits and ultimately having the two become better from it. Traditional news is not going away, but neither is social news. The two are both here to stay, although their current manifestation may not. Either way, social news has put the power squarely back into the hands of the public and I cannot see anything but good coming from that.