Buzzfeed the Storyteller

Key Points

Storytelling has changed in the modern digital age. Every news article now is hyperlinked and Facebook shareable. The way a story is told has changed, but more so, the story and arguably the content have changed as well. New narratives are told by the word through images and lists, and no media outlet tells the story engaged with the public than Buzzfeed. Story telling is about the audience. Who is reading, and what do they want to read, determines what is written and more so the way it is written. Buzzfeed engages the public in a stronger way than any other "news channel" has ever been able to do. 

References

"BuzzFeed is no scrappy little start-up anymore. It’s a big, profitable, influential news organization." Buzzfeed was never considered a news organization until the way they told their story began to engage the public. Now, the public is more engaged than ever before. Buzzfeed is arguably one of the most shared websites on social media. Based on my own personal experience, I cannot think of I log on to Facebook and see at least one Buzzfeed article in my Facebook Feed. Now, it is a powerhouse. It is a distribution of news like no other. It puts news into lists and GIFS. It appeals to the audience's digital desire for something more than black and white text. 

For example, the most utilized feature on Buzzfeed exists on the trending topics page. On the page, articles are split into two sections: "articles trending now" and "top posts this week." Skimming the lists of articles, there is a mix present of pop culture and politically charged topics discussed. On a traditional news sight, I would doubt these two articles below would be listed under a same section. 

 

The two articles above represent the stories told by Buzzfeed. They are not text, they are images. They are told through the audience's lens of what they would see if they were there. More than anything, the stories Buzzfeed tell matter. Take the article on the left titled "24 things women can finally do." This article tackles the issue of feminism, but in a creative and comedic approach. These are the typical entertaining articles written by Buzzfeed. Then, there are the designated news articles, but really it seems like the majority of articles like the "24 things women can finally do" could also be argued as news. Buzzfeed treats everything as news from as silly as an article about dogs to Trump's gains in the polls. People comment and comment on each others comments on these articles. They share, and they discuss. They can even take quizzes related to these subjects. The public acts as the storyteller and the audience put together and combined by Buzzfeed. 

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Questions

1. Do you think Buzzfeed is a reliable news outlet? Where does Buzzfeed's authority come from? Is it different from a traditional news outlets? 

2. Do you think Buzzfeed is almost like a parody to the traditional story telling of news? How an the two subjects of parody and Buzzfeed story telling relate?

Sources:

http://www.cjr.org/cover_story/who_cares_if_its_true.php

https://www.buzzfeed.com/sophiegadd/things-women-can-finally-do?utm_term=.qr6gz9B50j#.gbr4dN3AbO

https://www.buzzfeed.com/jessicagarrison/heres-what-former-beauty-queens-think-of-donald-trump?utm_term=.ibGRyLpE3O#.qr6gz9B50j