Have you ever wondered if journalism is still important? I mean, everyone has the latest news on social media, right? Well, I’m here to tell you why journalism becomes more important, especially in a world that focusses on social media.

History

Have you ever thought about why or how journalism even started? Why did people think they needed to gather and distribute news?

In 59 before Christ the first journalistic product was made in ancient Rome. It was the first state newspaper by Julius Caesar. It was used to keep the people up to date with the decisions and actions of their government. But it was also used as a tool for propaganda to promote its policies and achievements.

Since that journalism has changed a lot. Trough the invention of the printing press in 1440 by Guttenberg and the start of radio and TV broadcasting in the 1920s, the use of internet journalism such as online journalism and online newspapers rose.

Since its start, journalism was used for many different reasons. During the Vietnam war (1960s – 1970s) the New York Times revealed important details, between 1930s-1940s mass media was used to spread Nazi ideology and between the late 19th – early 20th Century newspapers like “The Suffragist” were crucial in advocating for women’s rights. Journalism can be used for good and bad things, but I think it gets dangerous when truth and fake news get mixed.

I believe that journalism is now on a turning point. With the rise of social media as a medium for news gathering, the chances of exposure to fake news rises also. And the reducing use of newspapers and news websites ensures that trusted news coverage is less and less seen.

Format

Social media is prone to dis- and misinformation. Everyone can post and say their opinion as a statement or upload something that isn’t true. The format is the same for everyone and that makes it hard to find opinion from truth. You don’t have that problem with newspapers, news websites or news outlets on TV or radio. The format is different from other programs, and you can find the same information on many different media.

With trusted news outlets on social media, we lose sense of what is true and what is false. We start doubting official media, media we would otherwise have trusted without a second thought.

Data

A press release from the European Parliament shows that 47% of Europeans between 16 and 30 use social media as their top source for social and political issues with Instagram as the main platform. I find this strange because the same EP survey show that 76% of respondents believe they have previously been exposed to misinformation.

A lot of the young adults say that they use social media for news gathering because it shows automatically. The perspective of these people: “The news finds me”. (Dutch article)

And while the use of social media rises the trust in journalists reduces. A survey from Ipsos in June 2024 shows that there is only one country worldwide where more than 50% trusts journalists, Indonesia. Even in Belgium the percentage of the people who trust journalist is only 26%. The trust in news media, then again, is 44%.

So, in conclusion, my opinions says that journalism is still very important and will always be very important. Journalism has survived many different situations and has overcome many situations where it was censored. I believe it will also survive social media.

Text: Stien Van de Laar
Photo: ©Markus Winkler via Pexels