Clicks Over Credibility: The Uncertain Future of Journalism From sharing important world news to uncovering hidden truths, journalism has a huge impact on people’s everyday lives. However, the way people consume the news is changing in unrecognizable ways.
There are a plethora of journalists who have had a great influence on society, such as Bob Woodward, who exposed the infamous Watergate scandal; Lester Holt, who is the anchor of NBC Nightly News; and Emmy Award-winning Anderson Cooper, who is a CNN news anchor and has reported on countless foreign conflicts. All of these journalists had a large impact on people’s lives due to the information they were able to share through groundbreaking stories.
Traditional print journalism used to be the main way people received news before the internet. The paperboy riding on his bicycle dropping off the morning paper, the radio, or the nightly news, was how people learned about what was happening around the world. However, this is no longer the case. Over time, print journalism went digital, allowing billions of people access to the newest news stories at any time of the day. However, according to the Pew Research Center, digital traffic to newspaper websites are declining. The average “monthly number of unique visitors to the websites of the country’s top 50 newspapers … declined 20% to under 9 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, down from over 11 million in the same period in 2021.”
Now, through social media, there are countless ways to get news. The BBC describes how social media has become one of the main sources of news, surpassing news websites and TV channels. As stated, more than “half (54%) of people get news from networks like Facebook, X and YouTube – overtaking TV (50%) and news sites and apps (48%).” This could be because, unlike traditional media forms, social media, in comparison, is inexpensive and accessible. Social media news accounts can be accessed by millions of people and at a very little cost if someone already possesses a smartphone.News posts also often appear on the “For You Page” in short, digestible ways. The For You Page is consists of content that already aligns with user interest through data tracking. Today, people do not have to go out of their way to search for and read lengthy articles. This allows for increasingly larger and more diverse groups of people to stay informed and get updated on news and other journalistic pursuits.
However, although it contributes to more people consuming news than ever before, it may also contribute to misinformation. The Permanent Commission on the Status of Women describes how traditional journalism is characterized by established news “organizations that adhere to defined editorial standards and verification processes. These organizations act as gatekeepers, employing rigorous oversight to maintain accuracy and credibility in their reporting.”
Over time, social media has trained audiences to prefer shorter, digestible pieces with punchy headlines or titles that can often hold fake news or clickbait. With an influx of this content, real and important journalism that does not come across as flashy gets lost in the algorithm. Furthermore, social media may favor sensational or biased news, complicating users’ ability to distinguish factual reporting from personal opinions. The news that typically goes viral is edited in a way to seek out strong reactions, making news more emotionally charged. This can also influence social media algorithms to push people into echo-chambers. The algorithm pushes news and content with one view or bias, instead of providing a well-rounded view.
According to the University of Michigan, fake news is bigger than just false news stories. Some stories may have a “nugget of truth, but lack any contextualizing details.” The lack of context prevents readers from understanding the larger picture and the nuance of a story. News on social media can also be “written using deliberately inflammatory language, leave out pertinent details, or only present one viewpoint.” Furthermore, it often doesn’t include sources for information, making it hard to verify.
This is harmful as circulating misinformation causes people to hold opinions about untrue happenings. Additionally, misinformation and fake news contribute to harmful stereotypes and beliefs about certain groups of people, untrue health facts or suggestions, and plainly incorrect statements about everyday life. An example would be the plethora of misinformation during Covid-19, when people online recommended drinking bleach to get rid of the sickness. Fake news headlines surrounding the 2024 presidential elections alsodeterred people from voting. To combat falling for misinformation, it is vital to get news from trustworthy sites and fact-checking information against other sources to ensure what is being presented is not completely biased.
At UW Bothell, Media and Communications courses such as Journalism and Media History, Critical Media Literacy, and Issues in Media Studies may help give students the skills to identify misinformation and make critical decisions about online content. Students finding their own voice and practicing journalism while factchecking will combat the decline in journalism as well. Student Media organizations, such as The Husky Herald, Clamor and UWAVE radio, are great places to stay informed on campus and are accessible platforms for students interested in developing a journalistic voice.
Ultimately, traditional journalism consumption is declining, with social and digital media taking its place. When consuming news content on social media, it is vital to stay alert and be critical about the information that one is consuming. Students can start to build media literacy and journalism skills by researching the plethora of classes available and contributeto the student media organizations at UW Bothell.
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