Social Media and Keeping Trust in Journalism

Josh Matney

cm735716@ohio.edu

As stated in the first chapter of The New Ethics of Journalism, the way that journalism is created and delivered has completely changed since the digital age (McBride et al., 2013). The most prominent proponent of this change happened explicitly in the 2010s, with social media's emergence and exponential growth. 

A major topic discussed in this course is trusting journalism and mass media overall. The evolution of digital technology has put citizens in constant connectivity with the online world. While marvelous with its endless ability to entertain and inform, this constant connectivity is harmful to users who are not aware of the downsides that exist. 

The most significant downside is the ever-increasing amount of content online, which brings uncertainty about whether the information being given is valid. This problem begins with the influence of emotional opinion and sensationalism bearing greater importance than truth and objectivity. In an article by Courthouse News Service, Thomas F. Harrison describes this sensationalism originating in 1987 after the FCC repealed the Fairness Doctrine, which required licensed broadcasters to keep fair and balanced coverage on controversial or political issues. 

Once the Fairness Doctrine was repealed, radio shows such as Rush Limbaugh's emerged and began combining news with opinion and sensationalism, "blurring the line between reporting and entertainment" (Harrison, 2021). In 1996, FOX News launched with its primary host Bill O'Reilly, who followed a style similar to Limbaugh by blurring news and entertainment with his personal opinions. That only continued to make it harder for people to distinguish an emotional, subjective opinion from honest reporting.

Fast forward to now, and the highly sensational news that people are being exposed to is across Facebook or Twitter. That includes people who spread misinformation and news organizations that use social media as an extension to their publications.  

According to an article on WebMD, author Nick Tate details how today's lack of trust in media affects the public response to COVID-19 threats; and a lack of trust in science. Tate uses the term "post-truth era" to describe the public's current preference for baseless beliefs and subjective opinions over science and fact. 

To improve the state of public trust for news and information journalism, we must make an effort to highlight the natural, potential problems that social media can cause. Whether that be the spread of misinformation or personal opinion, it cannot overcome the importance of spreading - and upholding - the truth.