Multimedia News Reporting & Younger Generations
Could Snapchat be a way to bring hard-hitting news and journalism to a disinterested younger generation?
Nowadays, it can be argued that younger generations have access to more and more media outlets. From Hollywood blockbusters, to multi-media interactive websites, creativity in the media industry is constantly evolving.
I’m not going to argue whether younger generations are even interested in politics, world events, or being an active citizen through the consumption of news. That’s another argument altogether.
But can it be argued that, the typical methods of news telling — like newspapers and TV news coverage — just don’t engage a younger generation that have such high expectations?
The real question we need to ask is, how can we present journalism in a new way? One that keeps up with new medias, new storytelling narratives, and the younger generations’ anticipations, while staying factual and respective to the journalistic codes of conduct.
One medium, that seems to be already popular with organizations and individual journalists alike, is the social media app Snapchat.
Below are just 3 of the many reasons why Snapchat has proved successful.
1: It’s straight to the point
Political jargon, technical terms, ambiguity; it’s arguable that young people aren’t the biggest fan of these things.
We want the story facts given to us straight, allowing us to catch up with either events or topical discourse quickly and efficiently.
That’s not to say we’re disinterested in these things. And it’s definitely not to say that we don’t understand the more complex issues surrounding the news or events. We just pick and choose what we dive into further. Snapchat offers a great function for this — Swipe Up.
The Telegraph has been doing this brilliantly on their Stories page. They report the main headlines quickly, giving an overview of the events through a few interactive Snapchat slides. They then offer the option to swipe up to read the full article.
This trick is simple, but very effective. You could argue that, “well, young people should be interested in the whole picture”.
Let’s be honest, no one can know everything that’s going on in the world, all the time.
Snapchat allows individuals to get an overview competently, catching up on the major discourse, but still giving the option to find out more either then, or later when having the time.
2: The human touch
Snapchat offers a human touch that some news outlets just don’t possess.
It’s said today’s younger generation struggle with connecting and human relations, but I think that’s far from the truth. This is particular for media consumption.
The lack of human emotion and insight that is cut from formal communications is why most younger people shun politicians, and the traditional formal news telling.
Snapchat offers the possibility to show humanity. Speaking directly to the audience can be particularly powerful for the individual journalist, allowing them to form a connection with the audience, and pass on the news in a raw and compassionate way that can be responded to more effectively.
It indeed can be argued news reportage should remain unbiased and refrain from emotional injection. However, journalists are still able to establish that connection on a personal level just by using Snapchat.
Snapchat simply as a social media functions on an individual level. Images and videos connect directly to the view of the consumer on their phone.
They’ve allowed the journalist into their private space, and to talk to them directly through their content.
This is something completely different — and much more intimate — than the mass communication of newspapers or TV coverage. It’s even an argument as to why YouTube has been so successful; young people respond better to media creators who talk to their viewers as if they know them as a friend. You can still remain factual and impartial, but deliver the message on a personal level.
3: It can be fun!
The possibilities to create great, engaging media has been demonstrated by quite a few journalistic outlets on Snapchat already.
On their Stories page, Cosmopolitan have been very effective at this. And before you argue that Cosmopolitan isn’t real news and journalism, it has actually used the platform to bring interesting interviews, social and political discussions, and a feminine insight into different events through its Snapchat.
Incorporating images, videos, animations, and an engaging formatting of their articles, Cosmo’s media is so easy and simple to consume, and appeals directly to a young audience who like variety in their media consumption.
As a powerful engagement tool, the physical interaction of tapping, swiping up, and scrolling through the stories, is a new form of the consumption of journalism.
What’s in store?
With more and more Social Media outlets expanding — like Facebook and Instagram evolving with their own Stories outlet, and YouTube continuously ever growing in production and consumption — it’s without argument that news forms and journalistic media is going to completely change in the near future.
To those who argue, “well if the younger generations can’t consume news and journalism in the traditional way, well then that’s their problem”, this is not the attitude we should have as journalists.
As our job as journalists is to bring everyone into public discourse and understanding of world events — no matter age, gender, profession, state of intelligence, and so forth — then we should be striving to engage everyone with the way we share news and discussion.
With the number of young people voting in the last UK general election at record numbers, it can’t be argued that they are ignorant or unwilling to participate. We, as journalists, need to make sure everyone can engage, understand, and participate with the media we create.
