The Guardian editor lauds social media

“The tide towards digital media is irresistible, even though print is robust in terms of revenue,” said Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief of British newspaper and website The Guardian, who was in Mumbai on Tuesday to discuss the future of journalism in a digital age.

Rusbridger, who has been editor of The Guardian since 1995, spoke about how journalism has undergone a fundamental change since the 19th, or even 20th century.

He also said that a two-way relationship between journalists and their readers is the backbone of journalism in the digital age. Describing how open journalism has shaped The Guardian’s editorial strategy, he said, “The use of social media enables reader participation.”

Commenting on how live blogging got popular during the Arab Spring, Rusbridger said, “Journalism incorporated this and we discovered our pieces were infinitely richer and more comprehensive, as we pulled in stories from different sites by other writers.”

Rusbridger said that after switching to the use of social media as a professional tool and putting digital media first, The Guardian website has become the third-largest news website in the world.