Social Media In The Newsroom:Exploring The Afghanistani Journalists' Motivations For Using Facebook As A Professional Tool

The study aimed to explore the Afghanistani journalists' motivations for using Facebook as a professional tool;with the leading research questions asking why and how Afghanistani journalists use Facebook and what gratifications are obtained from utilizing Facebook.Through the lens of uses and gratifications theory,a qualitative method was employed for research design.Data were collected by conducting in-depth interviews centered around semi-structured questions prepared by the researcher.Forty participants were selected based on purposive sampling among journalists who are or have used Facebook for journalistic purposes in Afghanistan.The participants were recruited from five major regions of Afghanistan.Nvivo 12 software was used to analyze the content interviews,including thematic coding and other data points.The findings show that the motives behind journalists using Facebook include communication facilitation,social interaction,seeking information and news ideas,instant information sharing,enhancing productivity and effectiveness,surveillance,more freedom of action,becoming wellknown,and the ability to reach a global audience.Furthermore,three types of gratifications participants obtained from using Facebook include;social gratifications,content gratifications,and utilitarian gratifications.This study contributes to the existing knowledge and literature in a number of critical ways.Findings present comprehensive and in-depth information regarding using social media for journalism purposes.Moreover,the study supports the factors of the uses and gratifications theory and proposes some new concepts and insights to the current body,which has currently been under-explored.