How the relationship between social media and traditional media has shaped this election

When Kevin Rudd and his people burst forth with their “Kevin ’07” election slogan nine years ago, social media was seen primarily as a dramatic symbol of generational change: Rudd was the future; John Howard was the past. In this election, social media has been integral to all political communication strategies and has had a profound effect on political journalistic practice. What has happened? One factor stands out: the transformation of Facebook and Twitter from platforms focused mainly on personal information to platforms focused mainly on public news. Instead of asking its followers “What are you doing?” Twitter began to ask, “What’s happening?” That was in 2009. Since then, political parties and candidates have used social media extensively to connect directly with voters, bypassing the professional media. Conitnued via link