After major media outlets issued corrections this month, this piece questions whether journalism is becoming too biased and sensationalized or if changing audience demands are to blame. 

Trusting the news today is a tricky challenge. How do you detect regulated media outlets from unverified news on social media? The focus of journalism seems to be breaking the news as quickly as possible to beat the competition. This practice has greatly contributed to the decrease of trust in news. It could be argued that news on social media offers a more diverse range of content through the diversification of sources. However, this comes with uncertainty, as no regulations operate over this type of content. 

Journalism and Regulations

In the United Kingdom, regulations first apply to media through internal regulators in most media outlets. This verification of content creates a reliable environment for consumers, both in terms of the content and the organisation. External regulators operate over almost all TV, online and print media content: the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) and Impress. However, this month saw a rise in corrections from those regulators, mostly due to the ongoing obsession with sensationalist journalism.

Biased Journalism 

These days, debates about the veracity of news are influenced by changes in consumer behaviour. Nonetheless, society has always been plagued by the perception that the media presents biased information. The question of ownership and funding for news, as well as the lack of diversity and representation in major media outlets like the BBC, are factors that contribute to public trust in the news. Even if there are regulations, the story’s narrative can be altered as desired. When combined with the need to disseminate breaking news quickly, a particular editorial style may involve expressing a strong political and ideological perspective. Funding models, principally involving reliance on advertising, can imply limitations for diverse content as pressure to deliver popular over in-depth investigation. 

However, the discussion principally revolves around the digitalisation and rise of online journalism on social media. Instead of providing information, online news’s goal appears to be motivated by popularity and clicks. In the past years, alternative media have become very popular. Those media frequently align their content with pre-existing beliefs and opinions on hot topics to attract audience and engagement. This shift to alternative media is faster for the target audience to reach in their everyday life and is especially suited to their beliefs using big data. However, this situation creates echo chambers, where the public is exposed to content which aligns with previous opinion, reinforcing biased news. Mass media, today, is primordially shaped by the pursuit of buzz and profit. 

Audience Preferences

This shift in the creation and distribution of media is in coherence with the changing audience demand. The audience’s skepticism in regards to traditional news outlets led them to turn to alternative journalism in search of greater authenticity and fewer financial incentives. This behaviour is closely related to the need for personalised content and opinion-based information. This alternative ultimately reinforces distrust in news. To satisfy this new demand, alternative journalism on social media empathizes with echo chambers, sensationalism for engagement and polarization of ideas. In addition, this content is not regulated, spreading misinformation and disinformation.

Overall, although alternative media first appeared as a solution to biased journalism, it is primarily reinforcing the decrease of trust in news. The main issue is that audiences can not disseminate regulated to unregulated news, and personalised content is highly relevant to their ideas and beliefs. However, fair journalism is fundamental to democracy by offering individuals equal access to unbiased knowledge to make informed decisions without being influenced.