The phrase “facts matter” has been thrown around a lot over the last few years as knowledge and information has become an asset to viewers as well as to journalists all over the world. We live in an increasingly polarized world where situations are not what they seem, facts are manipulated and there is a lot of pressure on journalism from various quarters of the society. There are many challenges facing journalism in the 24/7 news cycle and today more than ever it is important for journalists to be able to overcome these challenges in the digital age. The following are details about some of the challenges facing journalism in today’s times:
The Age of Breaking News, Various News Platforms and Very Less Time
A few decades back people generally used to read the newspaper in the morning and see the evening news for the necessary information about the local news as well as key developments all over the world. It is a challenge for journalists all over the world to be able to get contacts and information and break the news in a fast way to stay competitive in the sector. There are many news channels, newspapers, digital news platforms, and even news apps providing breaking news 24/7 to their viewers. It is a challenge for these journalists to get the accurate and sourced news in a timely way. There are time limits on most news stories and it is challenging for most journalists to get the right news in time.
The Age of Sensationalism and Shock Value of the News:
Journalism is an essential profession as it provides news to the viewers that informs them about the facts and also helps them navigate through an increasingly difficult world. However, journalism is also about ratings, advertisement revenue, and popularity these days and being competitive in a world where there are countless news platforms online, news channels on TV, and newspapers around the world.
The digital news age is also the age of sensationalism and shocking news that will get the viewers hooked to the news for good ratings. This means that the measurability of the value of the news is also dependent on the sensationalist aspects of the news which can be a challenge to most types of journalists.
The Diversity in Subjects and Avoiding Ignorance:
Journalism is a difficult profession as journalists need to have a working knowledge about all the subjects in the world to be able to cover them effectively in the news. This means that ignorance is not an option with journalists in the digital age and they need to be able to follow different types of stories and ask a relevant question effectively on any topic.
Whether the subject is economic, about fashion and films, about legal and financial issues or about social and political issues, journalists need to know what is happening in different situations, do their homework and report accurate stories and ask the relevant questions.
Journalism is a difficult profession in the digital age and to learn more on how to deal with these Challenges effectively one should follow the pioneers like Ottawa based Nick Gamache Journalist and others. Nick Gamache CBC has spent the bulk of his career as a journalist and producer where he gained extensive experience in writing and performing for broadcasts as well as writing and editing online content.
