Journalism Dynamics & Distrust

Kisha Ravi

kr208215@ohio.edu

Like everything in the 21st century, journalism is always rapidly changing. The ways in which we consume news and information are more diverse and faster than ever before. In fact, we consume such large amounts of data from various platforms, especially via the internet, that the news tends to show up in various forms on every web platform. 

It wasn’t always this way. Somewhere in between sharing information by word of mouth and this chaotic space continuous information sharing, there was a massive shift in the way we create and consume information. This shift’s intensity took not only the world of journalism by surprise, but also its audience.

What’s interesting is that the enormous digitization of the press is what has lead to increasing distrust in the media. The foundation of values and principles that journalism has been built on has not changed. Yet, there is a dissatisfaction due to the failure of journalists to live up to these values. 

As everything became extremely fast-paced and interconnected, the news industry was unable to keep up with the expectation of authenticity and instead gave in to what they thought was expected of them — immediate, entertaining news. A point made in The Elements of Journalism really stuck out to me — “People were not abandoning the news. They were simply abandoning traditional formats in favor of new ones that were more convenient.”

      

With extensive access, now anyone can post information on various platforms. While this can be problematic as stories tend to get skewed along the way, it can also be an asset. It gives us an opportunity to hear what everyone has to say. While the responsibility of journalists remains the same — to fact check, and fact check once again; the digital age has also increased the responsibility of the audience. If we choose to consume our news and information from social media, it’s up to us to verify what is being consumed and the same goes for mainstream news consumption.

I think it’s important for us to discuss and analyze exactly how and why there began to be such a great distrust in journalism. The digital revolution in the media brought on its own unique set of challenges for both journalists and audiences. Rather than focus on getting the story first, as journalists, we should strive for authentic, factually correct storytelling in a time-efficient manner. 

It is also up to journalists to keep each other in check. As in the case of Jayson Blair, there was a gross oversight in terms of the ethics and practices of the whole organization and structure of the New York Times. Blair’s work should have been questioned and confronted as soon as there was any hint of doubt.

While there is now a certain apprehension and doubt with which everyone consumes data, the fact remains that we always have consumed information and always will. The news industry needs to create better systems to check it’s organizations and ensure journalists are upholding journalistic values to ensure everyone has access to ethical news to remain informed and self-governing.