Sociability, Speed and Quality in the Changing News Environment

Speed and quality used to be considered the twin pillars of “good” journalism. Now there is a third pillar: sociability. It is no longer enough to be “first with the news”, nor is it sufficient to be comprehensive and trustworthy. It is now increasingly considered necessary to ensure that news is produced in a form that is capable of spreading virally. This paper considers the way in which “viral” transmission is impacting on the work of news journalists and news organisations.