instead of relying solely on algorithms to deliver news is a positive step but is unlikely to shake up an embattled media industry, analysts say.
"In theory, I see this as a really positive development. It is something quite promising," Danna Young, a communications professor at the University of Delaware, told AFP.Facebook's journalists will be curating stories from news sites and won't be editing headlines or writing content. "That's where the power comes from - individuals you know and trust putting their tacit stamp of approval on stories by sharing them," she added.The tab will be the site's first news feature using human moderators since it shut down its ill-fated"trending topics" section last year after a scandal over allegations workers had suppressed stories about conservative issues.
The news tab feature comes as Facebook embarks on a series of initiatives to boost journalism, with traditional media organizations accusing it of benefitting financially from their hard work. "The companies they are going to choose are ones already doing well I assume. It might give them a little extra cash but I don't see it driving a huge amount of traffic," he told AFP.Print journalism in the US is in free-fall as social media overtakes newspapers as the main news source for Americans.
The number of journalists working at US newspapers slumped by 47 per cent from 2008 to 2018, according to a Pew Research Center survey released last year.