The Raging Newsroom Culture War

By: Elise Hammond
eh233614@ohio.edu

You are sitting at your desk or in the library.  You have mountains of work to do, a final to study for, or an important research paper to write.  In these moments, many of us fall victim to procrastination.  The first place we go: social media.  Sometimes this time-wasting activity comes in the form of Buzzfeed quizzes.  I know I am guilty of clicking on "Pick 11 Beverages And We'll Guess If You Prefer Pancakes or Waffles" probably a few too many times than I would like to admit.

The Culture War

This brings up the idea of a culture war inside newsrooms.  Described as the tension between journalists who want a more "aggressive digital approach" and those who want to cling to tradition.  How do we as journalists who work at these non-traditional outlets balance providing entertainment with doing true journalism?  The question of how the industry should adapt to a rapidly changing digital age has been prompting editors and CEOs to take risks and try innovative approaches.

Courtesy: fortune.com

In the age where online outlets like Buzzfeed dominate attention on social media, some argue that the truth will prevail.  Editors of these digital-first companies believe that if they publish content without properly vetting it and verifying the source, it is okay.  The idea that truth will emerge online through "open trial and error" is foreign to those who are on the traditional side of the culture war.  In an article by the Columbia Journalism Review called Who Cares If It's True, the author said, "It's about finding the right middle point.  Some degree of perfectionism turns out to be good for business, and absolute perfectionism can prevent great journalism from happening at all."

This is precisely the problem for start-up outlets that are operating on exclusively digital platforms.  They do not have the resources or the money to do much of their own reporting or outside verification.  They are challenged with producing and publishing content quickly and still taking time to ensure that it is true.  Yes, companies like Buzzfeed operate on principles of transparency and admit when they published something that was false.  But is that good enough and does their audience really care if it is true?

Meeting Them Where They Are

NowThis operates with a similar philosophy.  In the article it said the company "wants to give them the closest version of the truth he can while still meeting them where they are, which is on their phone, right now."  Unique to other journalism operations, editors and producers at places like Buzzfeed and NowThis can get away with a quick editing process, sometimes even correcting mistakes only after it is published, because they are reaching a different audience.  These companies can use this type of verification because the audience does not care if it's wrong.  The audience, like those people searching social media while procrastinating work, just want entertainment.

But more and more often the Buzzfeeds of the internet are claiming they are changing their culture.  They see their audience shifting from perceiving these outlets as distrustful to now seeing them as places they can get their news.  The way editors approach this culture change is important.  It will set the stage for how even major companies approach the digital age.  If third party verification is a model that can work for Buzzfeed, how long before we see serious journalism use something similar?