In the age of social media, what is news?
For better or for worse, no longer does it have to be about the parting of the Red Sea, man’s landing on the Moon, or journalism’s salvation through the valiant efforts of Rappler. Thanks to social media, “news” can now be anything from a white trash unhappy with her curls to the “19 Reasons Why You’ll Never Guess What Happened Next.”
Whatever clicks among the mighty netizens is news.
Philstar.com knows this for fact and takes it to heart. That’s why it wasted no time to deliver a piece of news way more important than the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Seaman catches GF cheating on him, rants on Facebook. Whoa!
We actually followed this captivating story and like the mighty netizens, we were instantaneously turned into love doctors and Guardians of Morality. We cried a Pasig River for the poor guy who’s toiling in a distant land only to be cheated on. (@&$#^%^ – Di ka kagandahan no!!!)
Oops. Sorry. That’s our Tulfollian side getting the better of us.
We’d like to commend Philstar.com for its Pulitzer-worthy account of the “trending” story. The President’s Star’s digital platform couldn’t sit idly and miss out on all the hits and clicks that the story had to offer.
People now “own” the news, right? That’s the “democratization” of information for you. It’s now every netizen’s business to know what goes on in other people’s relationships, and trust mainstream media to catch up and cash in.
What’s “viral,” this is the new news value. So to borrow a line from a classic Kris Aquino movie, “Lord have mercy!”
The Spin Busters 