Reputation and accountability: where are the checks and balances with social media?

How have changes in the media landscape have affected the practice of reputation management? Public Relations Executive Tim Burt says that the proliferation of social media has greatly limited the amount of editorial control that can be exercised over the dissemination of information. Burt argues that social media have eroded the system of “checks and balances” that historically governed the reporting process, a development that has (unsurprisingly) led to high levels of anxiety among CEOs. It has made it more difficult for Burt to manage the reputations of his corporate clientele, but he is also cautiously optimistic regarding how a diffuse media environment might increase democratic accountability. Polis Intern Kyle Bowen takes up some of the issues that emerged from the latest Polis Media Agenda Talk.