Is journalism dying ?

Since the beginning of the new millennial, journalism is facing numerous challenges. However, I believe that the sector is not dying but deeply transforming itself.

Journalism is often considered as the fifth pillar of democracy. It ensures the diversity of voices that exist and allows freedom of expression. Nonetheless, the journalistic work we usually know faces many obstacles.

First of all, journalism has the same economic rules as other industries. The conveying of information needs to be profitable to survive and flourish. However, these measures affect the quality and the investigation process. Firstly, editorial’s offices reduce production costs and thus largely lay off staff. Secondly, the investigation time is reduced or even forgotten to give faster information to an audience in demand. Indeed, our ability to remain focused on the long term has been greatly reduced due to the many external stimuli. Hence, journalists are confronted to people who ask for immediate (snapshot) information while having a reduction of available vacancies. The working conditions changed and the recipients as well.

Beyond economic hardships, the very ethics of the journalist are called into question. The Munich’s charter (1971) gives an approach of the journalist’s deontology. It emphasizes the journalist’s role to respect the truth. But today, the line is confused: everyone can share opinions and convey information. Moreover, sensational opinions and narratives are privileged because of their propensity to turn viral. The clickbait culture being crucial, social platform but also mainstream media favor more guests which generate a wide range of reactions to ensure its revenue stream. The conspiracy theories also rise and are always more popular which give journalists an important mission to fact and cross checks information. It highlights journalists’ dilemma between producing quality articles and ensuring adequate revenues for the continuation of their activities. These are some reasons which can explain the general rise of mistrust toward media.

Another interesting point is that journalists are experiencing new issues in the field that render their job more difficult. For example, during demonstrations, they can become targets of demonstrators as they can be gassed by police officers. Additionally, there is a rise in the number of assassinated journalists around the world, with, for example, 60 media professionals murdered in 2020. These events depreciate the incentives to be part of the journalistic world.

Consequently, we can assert that journalism face numerous obstacles, but it does not mean its extinction but rather its transformation. Journalism arrives in a new era testified by the multiplication of alternative methods and actors to get informed. New platform such as Vice, Huffing Post or even Konbini are looking at the news in a new way: social medias are the principal tool and broadcast place. The traditional media follows the wave: Le Monde, for example, is creating news content on Snapchat targeting young people, and Le Figaro has started making Facebook lives. However, this digitalization of journalism does not mean the end of newspaper as we know which already survived many technological advances such as the radio or television.

To conclude, journalism is facing numerous challenges due to the constant evolution of our society. It is not dying but its type of activities

...