Mainstream broadcast journalism has declined within the last decade, seeing massive drops in viewership and engagement numbers.
Families are no longer gathering around the television to see their favorite nightly anchor enlighten them on the movements of life. Yet the small trait of preference shared by all has never gone away. Our nightly anchors have transformed into creators with massive followings using various platforms at their disposal.
Within this new age of media, journalism will be transformed by the attention spans of the populace. The trust in our once revered news agencies has diminished year after year, with polarization seeping abundantly into published words.
Every agency has an idea of what morality means in journalism, yet individual creators stand alone, unbound by the hive mind these agencies produce. TikTok users’ news viewing statistics are shocking and most go unaware they are even consuming it: over 80% of users view news related content.
The information age and TikTok have become synonymous. This has forced us to consume our media very fast, with the algorithms tailoring content specifically to our personal interests. How different is this from simply changing the channel because you prefer NBC over CBS in the 1960’s? The algorithm just changes the channel for you.
Creators like Philip Defranco, with three million followers on the platform, break top stories almost in sync with the mainstream outlets of today, but in very brief clips. His post on the recent school shooting in Georgia shares specific, brief information that gained over 300,000 views. While mainstream outlets have more money to spend on their TikTok clips and often gain more views on breaking news stories, YouTube viewership presents a different story.
DeFranco’s recap of the same events gained 600,000 views, while NBC’s videos within the same time frame only gained 300,000 on average. People are beginning to see these individual creators as more credible and unbiased than the hive mind agencies.
Recently the US Department of Justice indicted two Russian members of state-controlled media in paying a U.S. based content creation company millions of dollars to influence social media posts. Sponsored by foreign governments, the posts garnered thousands of clicks and engagements by the American people. Defranco’s post on this story highlighted the types of videos that were sponsored.
Algorithms present us with an alarming glimpse into both the very best and the very worst in all of us. However, you decide to take it a step further and dive into the information being presented to confirm that the conclusion you have come to is truly your own.
Information is being weaponized and our beloved apps know our intentions before we do. If you engage with these false information streams you will only see more of them. Misinformation and propaganda are weapons long used by world governments across the world, yet we are fortunate enough to have the freedom to challenge and question everything.
Algorithms can create echo chambers and tribalistic feelings of belonging among the masses but they also allow for the amplification of information as well as the access to it. The answer, as crazy as it might sound, is to consume more information from every angle possible. This is the only true way to combat the hive mind of mainstream news. Individual creators provide a refreshing take on how journalism should work.
The recent Russian situation should speak to the cautious action that must be taken in order to protect our freedom of information. We must question the news agencies and point out bias wherever possible. Supporting the individuals creators like DeFranco help spearhead the progress of true journalism.
