As journalism approaches a more digital era, journalists and media gatekeepers alike need to pay more attention to how they are displaying information. Not only do consumers have greater access to content, they also have a better opportunity to examine and respond back to journalists. This could be beneficial, but also harmful to journalists.
Consumers can read, comment, and suggest things to journalists or provide more information that was not in the original post. This holds journalists accountable to what information they put out to the public.
The second quarter edition of the HyBreeze with the school levy article (Source: The HyBreeze Twitter).
Personally, I believe journalists can use this to their advantage. We are in a time when people want to know the process of everything, including journalism. By being more transparent, we can build a better relationship with our audience.
This era of "fake news" has led journalists to be honest about their sources in order to have consumers trust them as a reporter and ultimately the news organization as a whole. In turn, this makes us more accountable and helps us strive to be a combination of things from outside influencers to the way news is relayed today. With transparency comes trust and with trust comes readership. We write to inform the public about what is going on. Without the public, we are nothing.
In a Gallup Poll, consumers were questioned why they don't have trust in the media. Reasons for lack of trust included bias, inaccuracy, "fake news," and "alternative facts." The two quoted reasons were often in statements from Donald Trump and his administration when referring to the media. A smaller percentage of people felt that reporting was done based on opinions and emotions or click-bait.
Often trust is lost because of the technology that we, as journalists, use to display information. I feel that many times journalists are so worried about getting the story out first that they lose sight of the most basic points that help journalism function. When journalists write a story while optimizing trust, the other values such as accuracy, transparency, and truth follow suit. Journalists also need to keep in mind that readers are no longer just consumers of content. Readers are now an active part of modern journalism and including them in a way, helps them become more open to the idea of journalism.
When I was in high school, I was the editor-in-chief of my school newspaper, the HyBreeze. It was a large part of my high school experience and I worked hard to make sure others felt they were getting the information they needed. During my senior year, one of my peers wrote about the new school levy. She did her research, went to school board meetings, and even interviewed members of the school board. When that edition of the newspaper came out, Twitter blew up. Students kept coming up to me during the day and asking me, "Is this really going to happen?" "Are these changes going to be made?" I was shocked that an article had made such an impact on the student body. Students wanted to be involved and make sure they could do everything in their power to prevent the levy from passing. If used in the right ways, journalism can leave a powerful and lasting impact on a community.
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