Digital media has certainly altered the way journalists go about doing their jobs. It more convenient than ever to create and share content. However, the influx of media creators has exacerbated the competitive nature of the industry. This results in a shift of priorities for media publications. The integrity of a news story has been compromised for ‘likes‘ and ‘shares‘ . Clickbait headlines plague the internet and even fake news stories circulate like wildfire.
So how can the core values of journalism be maintained within digital media. What are the core values of journalism anyway?
Truth. Social Justice. Transparency.
The intentions and agendas of a journalist is what shapes a news story. Information is much like disjointed puzzle pieces and thus can be used to create any picture. That is why there should be an obligation to maintaining truth, social justice and transparency.
Publications must ensure that their journalists represent information that is truthful. This means less clickbait titles and more fact-checking. All digital publications should provide resources that encourages fact-checking. There are heaps of fact-checking sites out there in response to ‘fake news’. Publications can integrate tools like this to ensure and maintain their integrity.
This leads into another crucial value of journalism; transparency. There should be a demand for journalists to display their sources publicly. All texts, images and info graphs should be cited and contain adjacent clickable links to pages that provide contextual information. This is a way for journalists to be upfront with their sources and to reduce conflicts of interest.
Digital media can also be used for bringing attention to social justice issues. There is definitely potential for journalism to do great things for the world. Multi-media is the key as it allows for a story to be presented in a way that is impactful. Most people are impacted by visuals so the use of images and video can aid in inciting response in an audience. This was infamously done with the story of the ‘Death of Alan Kurdi’ in which a striking photo helped conveyed the realities of facing Syrian refugees. The story reached millions across the world and raised awareness of a humanitarian crisis.
There is still a place for journalism ethics in digital media. It just boils down to being conscientious in the way it is used.
