The United Nations has recruited influential tweeters and social media celebrities as "social media envoys" as part of a plan to raise awareness of malaria.

But how does this move affect the role of journalists covering the region? Are they responsible for a lack of awareness, is the reach of malaria too wide, or is this part of a greater trend towards celebrity journalism?

hat tip: whiteafrican

The group of 24 high-profile social media users will tweet or post once a month about the milestones, resources, and movements required to achieve the UN Secretary-Generals 2010 Malaria control goal - which is to provide all endemic African countries with Malaria control interventions by the end of this year.

Envoys include Larry King, the Huffington Post’s Arianna Huffington, actress Alyssa Milano, Facebook’s marketing director Randi Zuckerberg, and entertainment host Ryan Seacrest, and more.

What does this mean for journalists?

The effectiveness of the strategy lies in the reputation of these envoys. Would this work if these envoys weren’t already influential in their own right? This isn't the first time celebrities have used Twitter to increase awareness of global issues.

Ashton Kutcher tweeted about buying mosquito nets for those in need through an NGO, resulting in a boom of mosquito net buying online. But shouldn't journalists be influential in their own right? Or is this a sign that they've come to the Twittersphere too late to gain the same influence as their celebrity counterparts? Is a tweet or a Facebook post worth more than in-depth reporting? Or is this a sign of a changing audience that trusts the cult of celebrity more than the traditional hacks?

The UN's decision to create "social media envoys" certainly points towards a changing world of influence in the media, but is it one where journalists have a place? It’ll be interesting to see what these envoys will be able to achieve for malaria prevention in 2010.

I hope it's successful because at the end of the day it's the people on the ground who will benefit. And that's great.

What do you think?