How Do Cuban Journalists Report from Their Facebook Profiles? Agenda Setting and Journalistic Roles

Castillo-Salina Y.; Muñiz-Zúñiga V.; Alfonso-Rodríguez I.M. · Estudios Sobre el Mensaje Periodistico (2025) · DOI: 10.5209/emp.98701

Resumen

Since the emergence of digital social networks, mass media have encouraged their journalists to actively engage on these platforms. Facebook is the most widely used social media in Cuba, which has allowed Cuban journalists to share their agendas and stay in contact with the public. This article examines how journalists in Santiago de Cuba use their personal Facebook profiles for informational purposes and the journalistic roles theyassumeonthisplatform.Professionalroleswereanalyzedbyconsideringthreeelements:thecommunicative practices of journalists on their personal profiles, the relationship between the thematic agenda of their posts and their personal agenda, and the productive routines that define the journalistic use of these profiles. A concurrent mixed-methods research design was employed, combining content analysis of posts and semi-structured interviews with journalists. The results show that the content of the posts addresses recurring topics from the media outlets for which the journalists work, while the personal agendas of these professionals focus on issues with a direct impact on their daily lives. It was found that most journalists do not respond or react to posts, and only a small percentage of interactions are in response to user comments, primarily concerning topics related to Culture or Sports. Informative practices and the roles that journalists adopt are influenced by the editorial policies of their media outlets and interpretations of national regulations on state public communication, transferring to the platform the tensions inherent in the Cuban press model.

Instituciones: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú