JOURNALISM RESEARCH • Science journal (Communication and information) • 2013 Nr.

The Role and Functions of Social Media

in Modern Society. Is social Media
Worthwile for Local Media?

Sandra Murinska Gaile

Rezekne University of Applied Sciences
Atbrīvošanas aleja 115, Rēzekne, Latvia, LV-4601
E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract. The purpose of this article is to explore if the social media are
worthwile for the local media. Currently, all types of the mass media under
the influence of the social media experience changes caused by the technolo-
gies in the processes of obtaining and consuming the information. The article
reveals the representation of the local media of Latvia in the electronic envi-
ronment, mainly in social networks.
The use of social media is analysed in the context of theory of innovations
diffusion, considering social media as a novelty in the local media space. The
empirical research has revealed that the local media do not implement all
the advantages which are possible to develop within the digital environment.
First of all, at the level of interactivity, the media do not offer the material
which may provoke a comment or a feedback from the user. Secondly, the
personalization allows seeing in detail whether the local media were able to
adopt innovation and to inform the audience about it or not. It means that
a particular interest is necessary to adopt an innovation. Thirdly, the poten-
tial convergence of the Internet and the traditional media mostly is seen at
the level of images and text. The social networks for local media in this case
use the most necessary opportunities; wider activities are performed in the
traditional environment.
Keywords: local media, social media, social networks, theory of the dif-
fusion of innovations.

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Introduction
The presence of the social media is currently seen in the various
ways and means of communication. For example, television, radio and
press have created profiles in the social networks in order to remind
of their existence, to inform about the latest news regarding the pro-
gram or content, as well as to represent themselves. The symbols f, t,
y have become the signs of digital activity of the media. It means that
a significant amount of energy, resources, and effort is invested in and
dedicated to the communication in the Internet environment. The so-
cial media Web sites are supplemented along with the homepages, thus
the notion of the mass media cannot be interpreted only in the usual
sense – it is also viewed as a transformation. The social media are the
sequel of traditional media, having the correlation of users as one of the
most characteristic features: “People refer to Web 2.0, user-generated
content, social networking, and other terms to try to encompass the
movement toward people becoming influential publishers on the Web
and beyond. All of these terms and others have their place in describing
useful tools for people to publish to the world” (Blossom, 2009: 29). It
is evident that the audience is not just passive receivers of the content;
they tend to use the opportunities of interactivity. “These communica-
tions tend to be one-to-many, meaning that a person creates something
that can be shared with many other people; or many-to-many, meaning
that any number of people can share information with any other num-
ber of people simultaneously” (Blossom, 2009: 31). Thus, the usual
model of journalism is changed, and a journalist is not the only one who
is in charge of the content creation. It means that the emerged changes
have in general affected the process of journalism as well, and, accor­
ding to scientists, “the new media technology, in particular Web 2.0, has
the potential to turn journalism from a lecture to a conversation (Pau-
lussen et al., 2007), fostering two-way reciprocal interaction between
journalists and audiences” (Canter, 2013: 472). The above-mentioned
feature is not ascribed only to the social media. The similar influence
is also emphasized in the activities of the local media (Stamm, 1985;
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Fleming, Steffens, 2009) where a visible link between the journalist and
the audience is one of the primary principles of the operation.
In the theoretical literature, the category of local media is referred to
a “small” ( Jankowski, 2003: 12) journalism, and the opposite is national
journalism. The local media remains a significant part of the traditional
news sector and thus serve narrow interests, first defined by geography,
and despite the exposure of communication technologies is still ma­
king information processes of the local space and is able to reach out
and captivate its audience. Brian McNair, the researcher of the commu-
nity media, emphasizes the following: “If news are our window on the
world, local news are our window on the part of the world we actually
inhabit. In a globalised culture where war-torn, disaster-strewn images
from far-off places of which we know relatively little flow constantly
into our living rooms, local news tell us what’s happening in our own
streets and backyards. Parochial by definition, local journalism is part of
the social cement which binds communities together and is widely and
rightly viewed as an essential element in the construction of local iden-
tity” (McNair, 2006). The local media are viewed as a developer of the
local identity, spreading common values and culture, constructing affili-
ation within the media images and discourse. The most relevant aspect
of the local media is a community whose interests it is representing, and
therefore the term “community media” is used. The media researcher
Kevin Howley asserts that the community media in today’s media cul-
ture are a popular and strategical mediator. Unlike the national media,
they demonstrate the structures, forms and democratization of the me-
dia practices, i.e. the participation and principles of free expression, as
well as the commitment to improve relations of the community mem-
bers and to encourage solidarity (Howley, 2005: 2). As one can see,
the local media are opposed to the national media, emphasizing their
role in the strengthening of the correlation and inner union of the lo-
cal community. They form the image of community and allow atten­
ding the community’s daily life events, applying various methods of the
content. Currently, the mass media under the influence of the social
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media experience changes caused by the technologies in the processes

of obtaining and consuming information. In particular, the Internet
media are considered as one of the aspects threatening the operation
of traditional or local media. Therefore, it is important to clarify how
the local newspapers, radio and television use or not the possibilities of
technologies in the process of journalism.
Recently, many studies have drawn attention to the interaction
and effects regarding the use of social media and journalism (Garri-
son, 2001). However, it is a question of innovations and how they are
adopted in the society. The Theory of Diffusion of Innovations seeks
to explain how the innovations are perceived as new by their audience.
The Internet entered the environment of traditional media in order
to obtain and disseminate the information, to communicate with au­
dience involving it into the development of the media content, as well
as to represent itself, currently being as a marketing tool. Mark Deuze,
researcher of the communication processes, asserts that the Internet
has changed the role and tasks of the journalist’s profession as well. The
Internet “has the potential to make the journalist`s role as the essential
intermediary force in democracy more or less superfluous; it offers the
media professional a vast array of resources and sheer endless techno-
logical possibilities to work with; and it has created its own type of jour-
nalism on the Net: the so-called digital or online journalism” (Deuze,
1999: 373). The practice in the digital environment tends to overesti-
mate the skills of a journalist, because these are new ideas, for example,
various information collection opportunities, which require knowledge
regarding the searching, finding, aggregation, and dissemination of in-
formation.
Nevertheless, a slight research has been conducted to clarify the role
and effect of the social media on the local media. Considering the fact
that many readers of the newspapers are still using the post services,
i.e. send letters to the newspaper by post, the following question arise:
what is the role of the social presence of, for example, facebook.com? The
editors of newspapers admit that the audience is mostly of a middle age
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and seniors, although the young people are active social media users.
Does it confirm the desire to follow the mass society tendencies and to
form the society virtually, or maybe it demonstrates some practical and
actual meaning? The present article mostly focuses on the role of social
networks in the daily life of the local newspapers, television, and radio.

Literature review and hypothesis

The influence of the social media regarding the journalism has been
widely discussed during the communication of journalists and the au-
dience. Communicating the information through the media has faced
constant challenges. “In a technology-driven process of accelerated
change, journalism is being transformed in the ways that it is produced,
distributed, and used. We are witnessing the emergence of new tools
and practices, phenomena that are yielding both a flurry of new ways
to produce information and a redefinition of the place of professional
journalism in this new information system” (Castells, Parks, van der
Haak, 2012: 2923). Researchers of the media explain that the most
relevant changes which have forced the media to change the methods
of addressing the audience and dissemination of the information have
emerged due to the changes of consumption habits: “They must make
it easier for audiences to upload and share online information while dis-
tributing content in as many platforms, products, and social networks
as possible (Vukanovic, 2009, cited from Gade 2011: 25). This means
that the habits and ways of the media consumption should be changed:
“News media are acknowledging the difficulty of getting people to start
their news consumption on their websites” (Gade, 2011: 25). Thus, the
social media are perceived as a particular innovation, making revaluate
the strategies of the media consumption, comprehension, interpreta-
tion, and analysis, as well as daily habits in general, because the new
media are characterised by fragmentation, dynamics, intertextuality,
and interactivity.
However, the digital interactivity is a novelty as well. “In the digi-
tal environment in which journalists now work, new facts are being
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unearthed daily; more audience feedback is being integrated; more

voices are being heard; more diverse perspectives on the same news
stories are being presented; more stories are available, archived and
searchable for longer periods of time; more men and women of power
are being watched more closely; and more people are engaged more
actively with the changes in the world – by taking photos or making vid-
eos of key moments, by commenting on blogs, or by sharing the stories
that matter to them” (Castells, Parks, van der Haak, 2012: 2923).
A source of the case study in journalism and the new media among
the researchers are mostly newspapers selecting different approaches
and aspects. For example, in the United Kingdom, the impact of the
social media is analysed by the content of multiple social media profiles
in the daily regional newspapers; it has been possible to determine how
interactivity between journalists and readers is being shaped. The re-
search has identified the spectrum of interactivity, which indicates that
individual journalists are engaging with their readers in an informal,
personal and reciprocal manner via the social media platform (Canter,
2013). “Evidence suggests that the proliferation of the use of social me-
dia platforms by news media in the past 5 years has continued to main-
tain the status quo rather than create greater interaction between jour-
nalists and readers” (Canter, 2013: 473). This issue arises the following
question: how the new technologies or innovations have been accepted
in society, especially the acceptance and the speed of it, e.g., between
journalists and the process of news organization, between journalists
and collaboration with the audience, and between journalists and the
new media.
Thereby the introduction of the social media into the operation of
the traditional media is viewed as a practice which is being adopted
gradually: “Adoption of new ideas, technologies, and practices requires
time in any social system, even a small and highly focused professional
system such as journalism” (Garrison, 2001: 221). The sociologist and
communication scholar Everett Roggers researched the impact of inno-
vation adoption and introduction. He called it the process of diffusion.
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The author asserts that “it is a special type of communication, in that the
messages are concerned with new ideas. Communication is a process in
which participants create and share information with one another in or-
der to reach a mutual understanding. This definition implies that com-
munication is a process of convergence (or divergence) as two or more
individuals exchange information in order to move toward each other
(or apart) in the meanings that they ascribe to certain events” (Roggers,
2003: 17). This means that innovations allow inspecting how the socie­
ty adopts social changes and the process of this action. It reveals the
practice, needs and collaboration of journalists with audience, because
the interactivity or interaction between the journalists and audience is
a significant social networking feature. In the process of diffusion the
author distinguishes several stages: (1) innovation, (2) an individual or
other unit of adoption that has knowledge of or experience with using
the innovation, (3) another individual or other unit that does not yet
have knowledge of the innovation, and (4) a communication channel
connecting the two units. A communication channel is the means by
which messages get from one individual to another. The nature of the
information-exchange relationship between the pair of individuals de-
termines the conditions under which a source will or will not transmit
the innovation to the receiver, and the effect of the transfer (Roggers,
2003: 17). The transition to the operation in the Internet environment
demonstrates challenges the journalists have to meet; however, they
are mediators as well, representing these innovations to the audience.
Consumers, adopting each innovation, experience the following five
steps: (1) one learns of an innovation’s existence, (2) he or she forms
a favorable or unfavorable belief toward the innovation, (3) the indi-
vidual makes a decision to adopt or reject the innovation, (4) if adop-
tion occurs, the individual chooses to implement the innovation, and
lastly (5) the individual seeks confirmation of his or her decision. The
main elements in the diffusion of new ideas are: (1) an innovation,
(2) which is communicated through certain channels, (3) over time,
(4) among the members of a social system (Roggers, 2003: 35). This
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chain is very close to communication models, and it reveals the most

important components of getting information and of interaction with
others.
This means that the research of diffusion is a particular type of com-
munication research. The interdisciplinarity allows including different
research approaches and traditions (network analysis). The theory, in
general, is oriented towards the analysis of diffusion process; however,
it is important to clarify what is the basis of the content of innovation or
idea. Thus, it is possible to clarify potential reasons why the innovation
is more or less adopted, because every idea is characterised by particu-
lar features and benefits which allow to determine whether it has the
opportunity of development in the society or not. The characteristics of
innovations, as perceived by individuals, help to explain their different
rate of adoption:
1. Relative advantage – the degree to which an innovation is seen as
better than the idea, program, or product it replaces.
2. Compatibility – how consistent the innovation is with the values,
experiences, and needs of the potential adopters.
3. Complexity – how difficult the innovation is to understand and/
or use.
4. Triability – the extent to which the innovation can be tested or
experimented with before a commitment to adopt is made.
5. Observability – the extent to which the innovation provides tan-
gible results (Roggers, 2003: 15–16).
The levels of adoption reflect the fact that innovations may differ.
The decision to adopt or reject an innovation and the length of time it
takes to reach the decision is often determined by the innovation itself.
The adoption may be explained by the importance and necessity of an
innovation to the particular media. The functions of innovation define
how long it will take to acquire or adopt it. The social media as an inno-
vation, first, takes time to perceive that information will be dissemina­
ted openly, and second – whether all local media users have necessary
skills and opportunities. Although the Internet is not a novelty today,
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however, according to the data of the Latvian Internet Association, the

Internet is used by 62% of inhabitants. This means that a particular part
of inhabitants are using other communication channels or belong to the
group of users which are somehow limited, for example, by age. If the
Internet is perceived as a form of the media, it can be asserted that tradi-
tional media users have changed the communication channel.
The three keywords in the debate about quality online content and
the differences between the traditional media and the Internet:
– interactivity;
– personalization, or rather individualization;
– convergence (Deuze, 1999: 377).
In fact, these are the three features the local media users and de-
velopers encounter; these are the innovations which the traditional
media users meet as well. Although one can assert that the traditional
media offer interactivity as well, however, the interactivity of the Inter-
net manifests oneself “in potential to make the reader / user part of the
news experience” (Deuze, 1999: 377). Through analysis it is possible
to outline at least four types of approach to the concept of interactivity.
The first is a technically informed or structural vision of interactivity in
which interactive potentials are built into the hardware and software
of different media systems. The second defines interactivity in terms of
human agency, and sees human involvement and freedom of design or
use as the defining variables. Third, interactivity can be used as a con-
cept to describe the communication among users, which is mediated
by the new media and which gives rise to new possibilities for inter-
personal communication. And finally, interactivity can be seen as a po-
litical concept which is tied to broader changes in governmentality and
citizenship (Beer, Gane, 2008: 97). The interactivity is important not
only at the media level; it testifies about the participation of society in
general as well. The media can be used as a tool to acquire it, because it
shows not only a reality, but it encourages involving oneself, thinking,
and feeling the affiliation to a particular territory by choosing specific
topics, places, participants and a content. Thus, they are jointly respon-
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sible for the development of innovation, especially regarding the local

media, which has the influence in the local communities regarding the
formation of opinion or it has a role of an authority.
The publication clarifies how the theory of diffusion can be applied
in the study process of the local media practice, because the mass me-
dia channels are often the most rapid and efficient means to inform the
audience of potential adopters about the existence of an innovation, i.e.
to create the awareness-knowledge. In the practical part of the study,
the media undertake both the role of the informant and the user of in-
novations.

The local media market

The local media market in Latvia is stable, especially among the
printed communication tools. In each region of Latvia there are issued
local newspapers two or three times a week with the number of copies
5000–6000. Among the regions of Latvia, there are differences among
the newspaper’s systems; for example, in the Latgale region several
newspapers are issued in two languages – Latvian and Russian, having
an identical content. It is defined by the region’s multi-ethnical envi-
ronment. The local media market consists mostly of newspapers which
encompass local towns and the nearest rural territories. There are few
newspapers that encompass the whole region. It takes more human
resources and finances to encompass a wider information space. Most
newspapers are a private property; several regional media enterprises
are formed by the structure Reģionālā preses Diena of the joint stock
company Diena which consolidates nine regional newspapers in the
Vidzeme and Kurzeme regions (Rožukalne, 2013: 300). The content
of the newspapers mostly contains local information regarding the poli-
tics, news about the social issues and, especially, infrastructure, heating,
and management, as well as culture and education. A significant place
takes also the category of social empathy – congratulations, condolen-
ces, and advertisements.

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The activity in the field of electronic mass media in comparison with

the printed media is quite low. Televisions mostly have to deal with
broadcasting issues and the finances controlled by the limited range of
advertisers and other circumstances. Many of them have become the
communication tools of local municipalities. Their informative mate­
rials regarding the work of municipalities and local events can be seen
mostly in the regional municipality web pages. Radio channels in their
turn are characterised by the dominance of music and local events. They
are thinking less about the introduction of an original content, because
the financial resources are necessary to create news or informative and
analytical broadcasts.
The landscape of the media system is mostly characterised by the
tendencies of local newspapers’ operation: a stable number of commu-
nity newspapers attracted to the local territory, the interest and stability
of local press readers and localization of journalism.

Research design
The research data basis consists of three Latvia’s local media forms –
television, radio, and press. Each of these forms is represented by five
media from all regions of Latvia (see Table 1). The most visible and
popular media, as well as those with a large number of copies, e.g.,
newspapers, were chosen for the research.

Table 1. Latvia’s Local Media.

Television Radio Newspapers

Vidzemes televīzija Saldus radio Kurzemnieks
Ogres televīzija Ef-Ei Latgales Laiks
Latgales Reģionālā Kurzemes radio Bauskas Dzīve
Televīzija
Talsu televīzija Radio 1 Auseklis
TV Kurzeme Rietumu radio Kursas laiks

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Considering that the social network draugiem.lv among the Internet

users in Latvia is the most popular having 86.9% of the audience, the
Facebook in its turn has the second place with 77.3%. In general, drau-
giem.lv is daily used by 48.9% of the respondents, but the younger ones
in the age group from 14 to 29 comprise 66.1% of the respondents and
those over 50 years 38.2% of the users.1 The communication in the net-
works occurs in different ways: in diaries and active columns one can
express the opinion, create groups of interest, exchange photographs,
upload audio and video files, send messages, etc.
By the quantitative analysis, the presence of the media was estab-
lished in the social networks draugiem.lv, facebook.com, and twitter in
2014. The prevalence of local media in the social networks was deter-
mined by evaluating the information given in a particular media home
page and by writing it into the search tool of the social media.
In order to clarify how the local media is using the social networks,
several categories of functions were distinguished: to inform, to enter-
tain, to share, to make activities, and the type of information was cha­
racterized. This helped to establish the expressions of interactivity of
particular media and thus the level of adoption of innovations as well.

The use of social media

The gathered quantitative data regarding the use of social networks
among the local media show that the local media are integrated in the
Internet environment differently. The amount of the extent and fre-
quency the mass media use the social media and those who have not
got their own profile is different; moreover, many of the media have not
even considered the possibility to use them.
Among the local media, newspapers demonstrate the most evident
tendency. As one can see, they use draugiem.lv and twitter accounts fre-
quently. The entrance of draugiem.lv may be explained by the fact that it

1 Populārākie sociālie tīkli Facebook un draugiem.lv (2014). Available at http://

www.7guru.lv/zinas/popularakie-socialie-tikli-facebook-un-draugiem-lv

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twitter
draugiem.lv
40% 40%

20%

facebook

Figure 1. Latvian newspapers

is the most popular social network in Latvia, however, the importance

of the twitter is acknowledged by the offered possibilities – short, simp­
le statements, phrazes, and quotes. In the local newspapers, these are
mostly the headings of publications and the most relevant information
which can be read in a particular newspaper’s issue. However, the elec-
tronic media – radio and television – are quite active users of all the
above-mentioned social networks. The content of the electronic me-
dia, unlike the press, is also more diverse. The local radio is quite an
active category of the media as well. The collected data show that only
the radio uses the elements of interactivity. The contests are a striking

twitter draugiem.lv
30% 30%

40%

facebook

Figure 2. Latvian television

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twitter
draugiem.lv
30%
40%

30%

facebook

Figure 3. Latvian radio

example, indicating that the media maintain the relation with listeners.
This means that electronic media have faster adopted the social media
as an innovation and use its functions.
As can be seen, the Latvian social network draugiem.lv is the most
popular among the local media. However, there is no great difference
among the three networks. This means that the local media use several
networks, however, the amount, content of information and activities
what they carry out are important.
What are the social networks representing? First of all, the analysis
of the content shows that the local media use it as a tool to represent
themselves, yet in a passive manner, because the created profiles mainly
give only a common information, for example, contact information, the
way of occupation, and a specific character of the media. The newspa-
per Latgales Laiks in the portal draugiem.lv provides the following infor-
mation about itself:
The local newspaper “Latgales Laiks” is published in Daugavpils
on Tuesdays and Fridays in Latvian and Russian. We write about
Daugavpils, rural territories of Daugavpils, Ilūkste, and Southlatgale in
general.
As one can see, the information is official. The information is rarely
created and presented in a way which would attract people. The num-
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ber of the newspaper followers is 16, although the number of the portal
users is 1 200 0002. It is possible to place in the portal different informa-
tion, to share news with others, to offer news, and to upload photos and
videos. The same newspaper has a profile in the portal facebook.com as
well, and 136 followers like this page. However, the other local news-
paper Bauskas Dzīve has 312 likes. By this medium, the media confirm
that they use social networks; however, the methods of representation
they have chosen are passive. During the process of diffusion of inno-
vations which affect the adoption of innovations as the most relevant
factor, the local media may be related with the time and a social system.
Today, the following connection can be seen: the younger the respon-
dent, the more he or she is willing to get the information through the
Internet, thus the profiles of press publications have a small number of
users or followers.
The private or subjective information is quite typical among the
twitter users, however, these are mainly messages regarding a particular
event, successful work, positive greetings or even flirty advertisements:
Saldus Radio @SaldusRadio · Jul 22
We, the awesome girls from @SaldusRadio, would like to represent
the municipality in a women rally (have to search the checkpoints) on
23.08. Is there anyone who could lend us a car?
This sort of information is usually seen in the electronic media pro-
files. It demonstrates an open communication with the listeners, as well
as a potential cooperation. However, a purely practical information is
possible as well, for example, job advertisements. This means that the
activity of the particular media depends on its courage as well as on the
necessity and adoption of innovations.
The traditional media use the social networks as a news dissemina-
tion channel. This means that it is another tool which can help to ad-
dress the society. However, according to the examples, the media in the

2 Draugiem.lv (2014). http://bizness.draugiem.lv/lv

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social networks publish only the most topical subjects or news. Mostly
these are topical news, a relevant event or intriguing headings, meaning
that only some part of the information comes to the Internet, which
does not reveal the nature of the media. In the emergency situations,
the media are the ones who inform the society about the danger. Today,
with the aid of social networks, it is possible to do it very quickly. This
possibility is used also by the local media. For example, they warn and
inform about the situation:
Municipalities warn the inhabitants living in areas which are under
the danger of flood not to be frivolous! Be prepared for the flood! Infor-
mation is available also in “Latgales Laiks”!
The connection of the local media with the audience is developing
poorly at the level of individualization or personalization. It anticipates,
for example, the selection of individual news or other information, yet
the homogeneous and incomplete content of the profile is restraining
it from realization.
According to the M. Deuze, the interactivity of the Internet envi-
ronment allows the reader/user to form the news’ experience (Deuze,
1999: 377). The environment offers different possibilities for the au­
dience to express their opinion and to be present during the process of
creating the content. This tendency is characteristic of the twitter. It was
revealed during the examination of the local media profiles in different
environments. Maybe the poor amount of symbols allows the media
to be active and accept it as a communication tool, because with only
140 symbols they outline an idea without the further explanation. The
interactivity of the local media is characterised by uploaded photos and
videos as well. The available galleries demonstrate some kind of inter-
activity, too, thus urging the audience to be active, in some cases photo
reports as well, thus testifying to the participation in a particular event.
The publishing of photo reports allows the users to learn about the on-
going events, and at the same time it confirms the operational capacity
of a newspaper. This is both an entertainment and an opportunity to

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participate in the work of television. The involvement of the audience

into the activities of the media is a common feature of the local media:
Retweeted by Ogres televīzija
O-TV.LV @OTV_LV · Jun 18
Be the 200th follower and get a unique opportunity to film your own
greeting. You will choose the recipient! Your OTV!
During the formation of connection with the audience it is impor-
tant to find out its opinion, but the mentioned examples do not depict
an active communication with users. Although both newspapers men-
tioned above are users of the twitter, this profile also demonstrates a low
activity.
It may be concluded that the social media have entered compara-
tively recently the daily life of the local media. The main functions the
social networks manage for the benefit of the local media are informa-
tive, i.e. dissemination of the media content and public relations, or
the representation of the image. The content is rather homogeneous.
For the most part, the local media are put on the news agenda, but its
character is depicted by contact information, wherewith the adoption
of new ideas (mainly for local newspapers) of social networks reflects
communication integration. Accordingly, the following question ari­
ses – who is integrated? The local media integrate the social media or
the social media promote the activity of the local media? The question
complicates the connection between the media, audience, and the com-
munication sources. If the content of the local media is not valuable and
interactive, then there is no association between the audience and the
local media.

Conclusion and discussion

Although today the electronic possibilities are very wide and acces-
sible, there are communication ways and means which are passive in
the mentioned processes of the transformation, and the sector of the
digital communication is not the primary aim. In order to operate ef-

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ficiently in the social media, there is a need for a person who would
realize these activities. Considering that the number of the local media
employees is insignificant, such activity may delay the performance of
the daily work. An important aspect is also the age of human resources,
their willingness, and the degree of involvement.
The research in the area of the social media impact on journalism is
challenging, especially at the local media level. Evaluating the main fac-
tors which influence the adoption of innovations, it is evident that the
social media in the practice of the local media, especially among the lo-
cal newspapers, are unable to realize the mentioned features, because in
this case the social networks do not replace some idea or product; they
just supplement the possibilities of the local media communication.
The theory of diffusion of innovations, which explains the social pro-
cesses of communication among the local media, is implemented only
in the electronic environment. For example, in the home pages newspa-
pers mostly indicate that they are available in the social networks, thus
meaning that the audience is divided into two groups: the traditional
media users and the new media users.
The empirical research has revealed that the local media do not
implement all the advantages which are possible to develop within the
digital environment. First of all, at the level of interactivity, the media do
not offer the material that may provoke a comment or a feedback from
the user. Maybe these are fears from the reaction of users, which in the
digital environment is very fast; however, the letters from the readers in
the environment of printed media are a very popular way of communi-
cation with the audience. Secondly, the personalization allows seeing in
detail whether the local media has been able to adopt innovation and
to inform the audience about it. This means that a particular interest is
necessary to adopt an innovation. It may be achieved by a diverse and
user-friendly content. Thirdly, the potential convergence of the Inter-
net and the traditional media mostly is seen at the level of images and
text. The electronic media have sounds, too. It offers the possibility to
expand the form of the message, as well as to vary with its amount and
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visual material. The most relevant changes in the aspect of journalism

and social media depict the focus on audience, however, as the num-
ber of users and followers shows, the most successful in this case is the
electronic media, and especially radio. The radio supplements the tradi-
tional elements of the environment in the social networks with the aid
of texts, private messages, and interactive moments. The responsiveness
and reaction of the audience is an indicator showing whether the inno-
vation is used or not, as it depicts the specifics of the social media – the
activity of users.
The most important aspect of the social and local media is the envi-
ronment: the digital versus the traditional. It is the speed and quantity
versus the quality. The social networks in this case use the most neces-
sary possibilities; wider activities are performed in the traditional en-
vironment. However, it is possible that simply traditional values such
as letters by post outrival the rush and are the part of society to whom
most important are the traditional values. The interactivity or other ac-
tions are not most relevant for the local media. Being in the environ-
ment for them is more important, and not just in the role of users, but
as adopters of innovations in the early period. This means that there is
no desire to adopt the idea but simply to show the world that they are in
the social media and will be popular.

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