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True. In the early 2010s, I used to ponder whether journalism is actually dying -- meaning, now that we have social media, traditional gatekeeper-journalism [1]
by marttt 5y ago
True. In the early 2010s, I used to ponder whether journalism is actually dying -- meaning, now that we have social media, traditional gatekeeper-journalism [1] is simply not needed any more. During the passed decade, it has become obvious that as long as a social network is also a megacorporation, this idea won't work. We still need the better parts of traditional journalism to check what's going on behind the curtains of profit-driven social networks. Really messy, but also truly interesting times for journalism for sure.
1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatekeeping_(communication) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatekeeping_(communication)
- olivermarks 5y agoThe huge challenge for journalism is the reality that professionals are almost always paid to promote the agenda of their employer and advertisers. Independent, investigative reporting is very rare in corporate media these days. Many (Chris Hedges, ex NYT foreign correspondent is a good example) set up as independents in the golden era of blogging prior to the social media/smartphone tsunamai. I would argue people such as Matt Taibbi, Matt Stoller, Michael Tracey, Chris Hedges in the US are the true gatekeepers right now based on my understanding of the planet. These people appear to survive by publishing books and keeping up a strong social media presence critiquing the platforms that host them, and with companies like substack paying them to promote their platforms.