Journalism is on the decline, thanks to clickbait magazines and celebrity gossip. Have we as a society lost sight of the important information that we should be consuming?
Clickbait, celebrity gossip and companies like Buzzfeed pose a serious threat to the quality of journalism. The reputation of journalistic work will be seen as a ridiculous joke in years to come if we do not establish standards of what constitutes “real” reporting.
What dominates the world of journalism today are clickbait magazines and prattling news. It seems like our society is more interested in hearing about the latest celebrity break-up than they are in learning about world politics. People tend to gravitate towards news that entertains, rather than the one that informs. According to The Guardian, Sen. Bernie Sanders states that real journalism calls for change.
“Real journalism, in the words of Joseph Pulitzer, is the painstaking reporting that will “fight for progress and reform, never tolerate injustice or corruption, [and] always fight demagogues,” Sen. Sanders said.
This is what the standard of journalism should be, but it seems like our society doesn’t find value in this type of reporting. That is why journalists are falling into the trap of having to broadcast scandals for views.
There also needs to be a level of reluctance from journalists and media outlets to publish news that speaks on celebrity gossip rather than issues that deal with our society.
Peter Preston is an editor for the Guardian, and a columnist for the Observer who fears for the current state of journalism, according to BBC News. Preston said, “Inevitably, if the criterion for including the story on the website is determined by the number of clicks, then we’re going down a very dangerous path.”
This is a scary place to be in if we allow journalism to be reduced by the number of views an article receives. We cannot care more about the likes than we do about the content.
I did not enter into the field of journalism so I could write about the Kardashians’ new implants and lip injections. So, if we do not start setting standards for what makes good reporting, then I guess I should start brainstorming some witty clickbait thumbnails.
I believe that real journalism can accomplish great things, but we need to remove the clickbait content and focus on Pulitzer Prize-winning stories. Referring back to Sanders, he said that reporting has the power to uncover the wrongdoings in society.
He wrote, “When we have had real journalism, we have seen crimes like Watergate exposed and confronted, leading to anti-corruption reforms. When we have lacked real journalism, we have seen crimes like mortgage fraud go unnoticed…” This is the heart of true journalism, bringing to light the deception and greed that our world loves to hide.
I was drawn to journalism because that is where my two passions intersect. I always felt a deep sense of justice, and I wanted to be a writer. I do believe that equity can be found in the media world today, but it’s part of the minority.
In order for us to bring back real journalism into the spotlight, we as journalists and as a society must find merit in the difficult reporting. If we allow clickbait articles to get more views than stories that deal with global issues, then we as a society are collectively showing what we truly find value in.
According to PBS News Hour, audiences might only stick around for the important information after they read through the fluff of an article. Jeffery Dvorkin wrote, “It’s rarely newsworthy, but it does attract eyeballs. The assumption seems to be that audiences might stay for the ‘serious’ content after gorging on the fluff.”
It seems backward to me that we prioritize the gossip before getting around to reading the serious content. Dvorkin uses the word “might” to indicate that it’s possible, but not a guarantee that people will read long enough to get the parts that matter. There cannot be ethics or standards in journalism if the public doesn’t find importance in the current state of our world today.
It can be devastating to watch the news because of all the crimes, war and genocide that come with the harsh reality of life. However, it is important to remain informed and educated about the state of mankind, so we can make efforts to reform the problematic systems in the governmental and political spheres.
In order to eradicate clickbait, and articles riddled with petty drama, we as a society must decide what we truly care about when we consume content. Is it the stories about global and domestic issues? Or is it the news about celebrities’ latest fashion trends? Whatever topic interests you the most, just know that is the narrative you are allowing to have power in the media world.