Social media, mirror of society and agenda setter ? A shift in the production, distribution and legitimacy of media content

Abstract : Algorithms influence more and more how media content is edited and produced. This trend has many faces: real-time audience measurements impact content already published: titles, tags, keywords, etc. may be adjusted accordingly; filters and personal profiles help personalizing content; predictive algorithms help identifying valuable topics and formats, etc. Social media have built their legitimacy (for both the public and the advertisers) on powerful algorithms. Media have built their legitimacy (for both the public and the advertisers) on valuable content edited by professionals not by machines. If social media are the mirror of reality, they are entitled to set the media agenda. But if media accept to play this game, how can they sustain their legitimacy?