Those who study journalism, do so at the cost of learning grounding technical disciples and sciences that will enable them to understand highly technical disciplines, like climate science and public health. Mass media organizations are employing interns with general degrees in journalism, who are writing articles about extremely complex subjects that few people may understand. Consequently, many articles are supported by fallacies of consensus among scientists, medical doctors, and emotionally charged anecdotal examples, rather than exploring the research on the subject. Forecasting models are reinterpreted as fearmongering and alarmist facts to promote clicks.
Journalists, once the gatekeeps of the truth have lost their status to social media platforms, and their factcheckers which also employ people with journalism, rather than technical backgrounds. Maria Ressa, was less kind to social media in her Nobel Peace Prize acceptance when she said, social media “has allowed a virus of lies to infect each of us, pitting us against each other, bringing out our worse fears, anger, hate, and setting the stage for the rise of authoritarian dictators of the world.”
However, while mass media organizations are employing interns without specific disciplinary knowledge, and social media is deciding what people can or cannot read, another phenomenon is going on. Many high profile and experienced journalists are opting out of media organizations and turning to platforms like Substack or Medium.
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Substack allows autonomy and editorial freedom. These platforms are unencumbered by the new gatekeepers, where stories can go out as emails to subscribers. Substack allows independent journalists to follow their investigative and writing passions from their homes.
Journalism has long moved away from reporting the news. News now comes with analysis and commentary. People read the people they believe and trust. This new window on journalism is appearing at the community, regional, national, geopolitical, and specialist disciplinary areas.
Will this rekindle investigative journalism once again? These platforms enable independence, but whether this will come with the patience and discipline to do the hard and tedious detective work required of investigative journalism is another question.
However, the multitude of journalists and their fragmentation will ensure alternative voices in the online wilderness. Ironically Twitter enabled journalists to build up personal followings that transcended their employers’ branding.
Over the next couple of years, we will know what these new platforms will do for journalism. This may force more diversity within mass media op eds, or big tech may come in and takeover these platforms putting them once more behind the gatekeepers.
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