Journalism on Social Media: News Framing on Facebook News Pages of Assam
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31305/rrijm.2025.v10.n5.030Keywords:
Assam, Digital Journalism, Facebook News Page, Framing, Social MediaAbstract
With the rapid growth of internet penetration in a country like India, the social media usage among the citizens has also witnessed growth over the last few years. The traditional journalism which dominated the news-making process in all these years has been facing serious challenges with the expansion of internet connectivity in recent years and the subsequent boom of journalism on social media and web portals. This expansion of new media in the form of social media is not only transforming the news-making process, but also providing audience who consume media messages to become a part of the news dissemination process. Assam, a state situated in the Northeastern part of India, boasts of a rich history of journalism over 176 years. However, with the expansion of internet connectivity and social media in recent years in Assam, it witnessed a new style of journalism practiced through “Facebook Pages” which cater to a large number of heterogeneous audiences. The present study using Erving Goffman’s “Framing Theory” looks at the functioning of the select Assamese News Pages on Facebook using a qualitative analysis of the media contents of these news pages. The study brings to light a new style of reporting in the media contents of Facebook News Pages which was not prominent in the reporting of traditional media. The researchers argue here that despite Facebook providing a democratic space for the audience, still the political economy of these pages suggest serving the agendas of a section of people like the traditional media.
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