NEW YORK: The world’s largest social media website, having 1.3 billion users is going to newsy as Facebook is mulling a change to how it delivers news across its platform, reportedly engaging in talks with outlets including Buzzfeed, National Geographic and the New York Times over the possibility of hosting entire articles in site rather than simply linking out to them.
Industry watchers say that news websites are keenly aware they are less likely to draw high levels of traffic to their articles without Facebook’s help.
“Facebook has fallen into the role of audience gatekeeper for many publishers,” said Joshua Benton at Nieman Lab, a journalism research institute. “Facebook isn’t just another platform. It’s dominant in a way no other platform is,” added Benton.
News sites that don’t play ball with Facebook could get pushed out by those that do, the Times article warned. And even if the new format falls through, the current situation is not ideal for news sites. Facebook has received criticism for keeping secret algorithms that determine what users see. Journalists say they have to produce less serious content because they “work on Facebook,” earning cash strapped news outlets precious clicks.
But by allowing Facebook to post their articles wholesale, news sites may lose crucial access to marketing data about their readers and have to share advertising revenue with Facebook, the Times explained.
“Media companies would essentially be serfs in a kingdom that Facebook owns,” wrote the late David Carr, a Times media industry analyst, in October last year when rumours of the plan first surfaced.
