Can traditional journalism survive in a media environment in which consumption happens mostly on social media?

I’m on Facebook carelessly scrolling through post after post. I decide to read an interesting article the New York Times posted about U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent executive order. A couple of posts later I spot a scandalous headline from Buzzfeed regarding the same topic I just read about. I click on it in order to find out more about this animated topic. However, the article disappoints me with only half the information in relation to the other one.

 

Nowadays millions and millions of people all over the world use the internet for almost everything, including the news. Looking at most millennials and the younger generation to illustrate this question, Buzzfeed has basically conquered Facebook. Many serious news websites try to follow the trend by having their own Facebook or Twitter account. However, Buzzfeed has it all, from cat videos to celebrity gossip over to recipes with videos and even daily news. Their shocking headlines are attracting a big audience to get clicks. To their advantage, a huge amount of people is only interested in what former First Lady Michelle Obama was wearing rather than the content of her speech. This leads them to different articles such as Kylie Jenner’s new extraordinary lipstick kit and so on.

 

Personally, I believe entertainment and news are to be separated from one another. For instance, it has gotten to a point that even Snapchat features news. Neither Buzzfeed nor Snapchat are good examples for great or serious news. They are short and often times lack information. Most of the time, these websites have a hidden opinion inside their stories and are a huge influence on the reader.

Because this is still the internet practically anyone can publish or post something. But everything you read on the internet is true, right? (Spoiler alert: wrong!)

 

I do think traditional journalism has a chance in our digitalized world. Real content is important and a lot of websites don’t bother with the actual content. It’s in our hands to support serious news, and to educate the next Generation.