The Takeover — News Media in the Digital Era
By Darriel Ortiz
Can you believe there once was a time news could be easily blocked by simply turning off the TV or choosing not to read the newspaper. In those days information was available for those that sought it, but then the internet boomed and smartphones took over our outside distraction.
Thanks to technological advances, the internet and social media platforms have paved the way to connect us around the world and keep us informed. With millions of websites being created daily it’s become overwhelming for the average news consumer to try and locate a reliable news source.
In Bree Nordensen’s article Overload! Journalism’s battle for relevance in an age of too much information, research funded by the Associated Press found that young consumers of news media experienced news fatigue- “debilitated by information overload and unsatisfying news experiences.” This is a constant battle we face in society because of the massive amount of information we are exposed through different social media platforms and websites.
Facebook has been a leader in keeping people connected, however, they have failed us when it comes to the sharing of news media. The fact that anyone can create a blog, website or meme and share it with millions of viewers without any editorial or fact checking is harmful to our society. Bree Nordensen states, “Information without context is misleading” and that is what we are exposed to through social media.
Social Media platforms, if they are going to be described as publishers, will have to make some restructuring to include some media ethics to their algorithms. Platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, which uses specific algorithms to share information, will have to add some editorial guides to check what should be shared.
In the midst of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which Facebook data was secretly being collected from users and organizations, to be sold and used as a marketing tool, there has to be more transparency for the people who chose to use these platforms. If companies are going to use the data of their users to target them and their families, there will have to be a more informative approach to advising the consumers of what is being done with their data. Some journalists and scholars suggest reparation for data taken from individuals or organizations.
While people like to imagine apocalyptic battle between humans verses machines, the reality is that most of the technologies are already taking over what can be better handled by humans. When bots and AI start to control the information that is shared, people start becoming more passive to the news and in return a less informed society.
