Journalism in 2018: In-flux
By Dayanara Analuisa
Journalism continues to transform and evolve before our eyes. While change can be daunting, the journalism industry is in a state of flux and will continue to reshape how we get our news. However, whether these changes are beneficial or not depends on the audience.
Credibility is a huge factor in journalism, yet the public seems to have a lack of trust in their new sources. Remaining credible has always been a crucial goal for journalists but with the introduction of different media outlets, the idea of “fake news” has become more of a norm. Information is more successfully received by the audience through technology, yet many find it hard to accept it as the truth. With the increase of citizen journalism, the public can take on the role of the journalist. Although this provides many new opportunities, it can be a risk factor because it could lead to the spread of false news.
On the other hand, determining what is “news” plays a key role in the equation. Newspapers may seem more trustworthy than the internet but aren’t as popularized with their new audiences. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics “From January 2001 to September 2016, the newspaper publishers industry lost over half of its employment, from 412,000 to 174,000.” Although the idea of “fake news” is increasing by the minute, the audience is much more comfortable with being fed potentially false information online over reading a newspaper.
Additionally, while newspapers are slowly becoming less common, newsrooms are becoming less diverse. Newsrooms continue to be dominated by whites while the percentages of blacks, Hispanics, and Asians are at an all-time low. Although journalism is changing in a modern world, diversity hasn’t made much progress.
Social media has made a huge impact on our definition of news in modern media. Each year media outlets are expanding and becoming more popular, while traditional journalism becomes less used. This can be seen as a positive or negative depending on who you ask, but it is fact that it has revolutionized our news forever.
In addition to these advancements, media has paved the way for audio-based journalism. Compared to online media or TV journalism, audio-based journalism like radio and podcasts aren’t given a lot of recognition.
According to a post by Anthony Geremia from Centennial College, “Audio based-journalism means two things: An increase in podcasting and audio content, and content created for voice-activated platforms like Alexa, or Google Wave.” Geremia predicts that audio-based journalism will be the “the next big disruptor,” and could one day become bigger in modern day journalism.
