Five journalists from French speaking radio stations are to be cut off from the world for five days with their only source of information being Twitter and Facebook in an effort to determine the value of information received through social media.
Le Parisien reports that under a project called “Behind closed doors on the net”, which will take place between the 1 and 5 February, the journalists will have no access to TV, radio or print media and will have to get a view of world events through social media alone.
“It is often being said that the traditional media are threatened by these alternative sources of information, ” said Philippe Chaffanjon, director of the radio station France Info. “But what view of the world do you get through Facebook and Twitter?
“This experiment does not mean to prove that the traditional media are indispensable, nor the contrary. What we are trying to find out is whether you are being informed in the same way through social media than you are with the traditional media.”
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The reporters from France Inter, France Info, RTS and RTBF radio will be allowed to click on links put up on Twitter and Facebook, with the exception of Janic Tremblay from Radio Canada, who will be attempting the experiment without ever leaving the two social media sites.
France Info will be hosting five live debates on the issue every day throughout the course of the experiment.
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