Reading, watching or listening, repeatedly, to the same news articles is hard to swallow. The same style, the same tone, the same people interviewed, the same structure. It is a heartbreaking approach to media products and a disregard for citizens.
Newspapers and television material lack creativity, engagement, and innovation. Journalists and producers delivery the bread without the butter. There is nothing there to develop public discourse or to enlighten the population. Then, of course, some would say the media is in crisis, or the print media is in crisis.
Is this appalling situation on purpose or is it a real lack of creativity? Difficult to say. Does the media elite (folks) actually want changes, or just to enjoy the laurels of belonging to such an important segment in society? It is obvious that a set of structural and social forces contribute to the homogenisation of news content, and that, this homogenisation establishes narratives — not surprisingly, operating for selected interests many times with distorted reality. Often, it fills the news articles with poorly sourced or agenda-driven content. The process reflects the priorities of those who dominate news production.
The news avoiders are the best thermometers to tell us where media is failing. They point to a lack of digging deeper into the circumstances around any news story — even much less taking an investigative approach. The ‘explain more’ element is absent from news material. Inaccuracy, bias, and alternative facts are some of the elements that trigger distrust. Certainly, leftover questions are inevitable in news articles, but the most common questions could be easily answered.
Why don’t we see better explanations of local and international news pieces? Why aren’t there different sources of information on stories in the newspapers, radio, or television? Stories can have breakdown parts. Each bit can be a story in itself. Why certain sources are always included while others are left out? These all shape the lowering level of trust in media.
The media crises open up the doors to the discussion about who are writers and who are journalists. Both are complete different species! Some people are prolific content writers; others limit themselves to what and who. They offer little to attract news avoiders and even less to build trust. However, trust is a slippery topic.
When people turn to social media to get information, rather than the mainstream news outlets, it signals a lack of interest in the certified media. Surely, the rumour mill is empowered. Who would be surprised? Then, there are calls for the public to ‘take authentic information from official sources’; yet, when the news is homogenised, offering little divergent perspectives, it creates an emptiness. It isn’t hard to see that information deprivation is linked to an impoverished public discourse.
The vacuum created by the homogenised information provides an opportunity for the proliferation of digital information sites. An array of channels is reporting on issues that concern the citizen — while the mainstream media watch disengaged. How credible is the information in those sites? We must admit, though, that citizen journalism can pitch relevant issues from society — and, if the mainstream media do not report, someone else will.
The crisis in the media can be translated as a lack of public trust and, it is worrying. The media elite is responsible for this. Citizens need to be informed and have sufficient and accurate information. Newsrooms need to do a better job. Good journalism is no longer enough. Trust must be built up by addressing common readers’ concerns in an unbiased way, with analysis, and different perspectives.
Journalists have to listen to the public, otherwise, the proliferation of digital channels is inclined to skyrocket and it might implode the actual media system.
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