|
Services
|
||
|
|
|
News 10 July 2008 7 July 2008 3 July 2008 30 June 2008 26 June 2008 23 June 2008 19 June 2008 16 June 2008 |
15 May 2008
Facebook shuts door to journalists
Journalists have hit out at Facebook's decision to pull the plug on its network pages, as it will mean the closure of a valuable newsgathering resource.
Facebook announced the move in a message to users of its site, warning them that its regional networks, which allow groups and organisations to post news, are to be discontinued.
Many journalists, who use the social networking site for leads, believe that its latest restriction is a step too far.
Newbury Today reporter, Ben Johnson, said that Facebook was very limited and using it to find and talk to people was often more time consuming than it was worth.
Web editor of Archant Suffolk, James Goffin, added that Facebook was already more closed than the other networking sites, so there was less opportunity for researching a story than on MySpace or Bebo.
Freelance journalist, Olaf Koens, sees Facebook networks as a big address book of people you might want to meet when doing a story.
Some journalists are in favour of the move, as Facebook is to switch emphasis to its groups feature.
Web editor of the Evening Leader, Christian Dunn, said that regional journalists would still be able to find loads of stories using the groups facility.
