The other day, I was walking down the street and saw a group of kids dancing and taking videos. They were doing a TikTok Challenge. TikTok is a platform that has recently exploded in popularity among teens. Various challenges and new contents are being created on TikTok, such as teens sharing their daily lives and using it as a way to communicate with each other. In line with this, some media organizations are adapting to create news content videos using TikTok as a way to communicate with teenagers. Let's take a look at some examples of how media organizations are using TikTok to deliver news.
Media use cases for TikTok
One foreign example of TikTok news is the Washington Post's TikTok. The Washington Post opened its official TikTok account in May 2019, and as of September 2023, it had reached 1.6 million followers. The Washington Post is using the app to get its brand in front of younger audiences and make them feel comfortable with the organization. They provide videos of reporters joking around inside the newsroom and present news in a way that feels like reporters talking to each other in real life. For instance, the Washington Post recently launched a video on TikTok describing the meeting between Kim Jong-un and Putin, with the U.S. and North Korean flags in the background and
one reporter doing a double role.
In the case of Korean media organizations, SBS has also created their own Tik-Tok. SBS started its service in October 2019, and as of September 2023, it had 202,000 followers. Initially, SBS tried to broadcast live and use reporters to explain the events in the video, but recently, it has changed to showing subtitles of the events, accidents, and weather without any commentary from reporters.
Media use of TikTok is met with concern
While the media is trying out new ways to communicate through TikTok, there is a lot of concern surrounding it. Considering that TikTok is mostly used for light content, and there have been reports of unverified information spreading through it, there are concerns that TikTok lacks credibility as a news distribution platform. In addition, it is difficult for audiences to judge or critique the content of the videos since they are so short and might oversimplify societal issues.
As such, while media organizations are trying to approach TikTok as a new way to interact with the public, there are also concerns that TikTok will have a negative impact on journalism. It's natural to try new things to keep up with changing media, but it's hard to succeed if it's not well thought out. Therefore, media organizations that want to try TikTok should think about what journalistic value they can realize through TikTok, and then develop a long-term plan to maintain the service.
Bang eun-seo (2-7)¹ | Staff Reporter
1) eunicebang8888@gmail.com
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