The transformation of journalistic practices in the era of social networks. Analysis of journalistic intervention on social media in the Scottish independence referendum and the Catalonian sovereignty consultation

Abstract

The origin of the Internet dates back to the late 60s, in the middle of the Cold War, as part of an American military project. The main objective of this early Internet, called ARPAnet, was ensuring communication in the event of attack. In other words, ARPAnet was created as way to ensure a communicative channel in crisis situations (Gromov, 1995; Braman, 2011; and Lukasik, 2011). The final push to the Internet came from British scientist Tim Berners-Lee at CERN, in the late 80s, with the creation of the web (Berners-Lee, 2001; De Vicente, n.d.). Since then, the Internet gradually started to gain social space ¿such as meeting points in both spheres private and work-related¿ as well as in communication and, as such, in journalism. All these elements established the suitable environment for the triggering of online journalism. Thus, in November 1993 at the University of Florida, at the Faculty of Journalism and Communication, the first journalistic website was born and in January 1994 the first digital newspaper that publishes content regularly was created: Palo Alto Weekly in California (USA) (Stassen, 2010: 119). This ecosystem has opened up a new world of possibilities where media outlets have to face the challenge of a more open and new format, and journalists have to deal with the consequences that this innovation has brought to journalism. In this sense, it should be said that modern nowadays technologies allow an ¿interactive communication¿ (Atkin, 2009:3) which certainly provides the best arena ever to disseminate media messages and also to keep in touch with media outlets¿ current or potential audience...