In the first part of our three-part “Media Beat” interview with Jonah Peretti, the BuzzFeed founder discusses how his company is becoming a full-scale news organization following a flurry of recent hires and breaks down how social media drives news online.

“We have reporters who have beats and sources, and can do original work,” Peretti says, “the kind of work that reporters love to do, where they dig in on a story. They’re not just aggregating, they’re not summarizing what’s happening elsewhere, they’re creating something new and original.”

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Social media’s imprint on presidential election coverage continues to expand. As Jim Roberts, assistant managing editor at The New York Times, observed, “Social has profoundly impacted how journalists cover the election, how campaigns spin the news cycle and how the public consumes news. Social platforms have also amplified story lines and have become a conduit for news scoops.”

Ben Smith, editor-in-chief at BuzzFeed, added that with social media “Campaigns are competing with news organizations for readers’ attention.” And Amanda Zamora, national digital editor at The Washington Post, noted, “experimenting with new social platforms allows us to reach new audiences.”

Political reporters and editors from print, online, and television discussed benefits and drawbacks of using social media in 2012 presidential election coverage.  Roberts moderated the panel held during Social Media Week on Wednesday in New York. Twitter, described by Peter Hamby, political reporter at CNN, as “an invaluable resource,” was the main focus. Below are key takeaways.

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Photo: Evan Agostini/AGOEV, via Associated Press

A new report from the USC Annenberg Center says that most newspapers will be gone in five years. But 239 magazines launched this year, up nearly a quarter from 2010.

Christiane Amanpour is leaving ABC‘s weekly news program This Week, though she is sticking around to contribute six ABC primetime specials per year, make ABC News appearances, and is launching a show on CNN International. George Stephanopoulos will be heading back to This Week, though many wanted to see Jake Tapper fill the job. For now, he’s just the substitute.

NBC is launching NBCLatino.com in 2012. Broadcasting & Cable says it’s the first broadcast network to launch a site that specifically targets Hispanics. CNNenEspanol.com launched in November. And NBC previously launched TheGrio.com, targeting Black audiences.

The NFL deals with Fox, NBC, and CBS will include more content across more platforms.

It was revealed this week that James Murdoch received an email indicating widespread hacking by News of the World reporters back in 2008, seeming to contradict Murdoch’s statements about when he learned of the activity. But he says he didn’t read the whole email chain. Really? [via The Guardian]

Click through for more media moves.

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