mp385915@ohio.edu
We want the best stories and we want them now. If a news headline or article title fits into someones views or stands by their opinion, that article may be shared on social media or sent around. Videos, news stories, and articles all show up online with attention grabbing titles and links to click. But has trying to get people's attention ruined the quality of the actual story itself? With online newspapers and magazines becoming more popular, organizations are trying to get the most clicks on their stories and links so they can make more money. Clickbait refers to internet content that's main purpose is to grab the attention of readers so they click on the link. With clickbait rising, has the value of news diminished?
There are many issues when it comes to talking about clickbait, but the biggest one would be content quality. Think of a feature article, with an attention grabbing title that gets people really interested in the story so they click on it. It doesn't really matter how good the story is, if the title is good enough, it's going to get clicks. So this becomes an issue when organizations realize that maybe the quality of the story isn't as important. With a great title or headline, the story will remain in the spotlight and continue getting clicks.
Different types of online media use clickbait, but the worst place for this to take place is in the news. As journalists, it is our responsibility to give the public the information they have they right to know. We need to stay honest during our reporting and remain transparent when we are writing. If people are only focusing on what the headline is going to be or what they best way is to get the most clicks, then the story quality can decline and facts may be left out. When taking journalism into consideration, our first thought should always be about the public and the readers. When advertising and money takes over, the content deteriorates.
We need the stories we write and the content we put out to backup the title or headline it was given. Journalist should always strive to write the best story and put out the best content they can, and hopefully the headline will be strong enough to grab attention of the readers. Many forms of media have a great title that is clickbait, and then the content may barely have something to do with the main point or leave a big chunk of important information out. Many videos on social media platforms will have exaggerated titles and then the actual content is nothing like the title. For news articles with titles that don't support the story, journalistic credibility declines. We want to remain credible so people will actually read our stories and not just click on them. Clickbait is okay to a sense, as long as the journalist or creator can back it up in their story or content.
No comments:
Post a Comment