We Need to Fix the News Media, Not Just Social Media—Part 2

Coverage Type: 

Trained reporters play a critical role in identifying news events through following social media. When reporters have both professional training and experience with the organizers and actors on social media they can not only anticipate important news events, but they can also contextualize them for followers and authenticate the raw footage and real-time reporting. Even when considering the crisis of trust and generalized suspicion, it is important to distinguish the nuances. Many Americans may think that major news outlets are biased in their sympathies and how they cover events. The ability to use ubiquitous and widely accessible platforms for real-time reporting helps to alleviate the trust problem.

Platforms are not uniform, and do not need to be. While we must be mindful of algorithmic bias and other concerns, there is room for substantial differences in utilization of platforms for journalism. There is a lot more to social media and journalism than driving traffic or disseminating fake news. Skilled reporters can use social media platforms for a variety of purposes, including research and verification of stories. Platforms and new technologies can significantly reduce costs for traditional outlets, as well as for new entrepreneurial reporters. “Advocacy journalism” from activists or sympathetic reporters should not be simply dismissed. The questions are both whether the reporting meets professional standards and whether advocacy bias is appropriately disclosed. Upton Sinclair had an agenda. It did not make him wrong about food safety and exploitation of workers.


Part VI: We Need to Fix the News Media, Not Just Social Media—Part 2