The dumbing down of investigative journalism
“The truth is not always beautiful, but the hunger for it is.” — Nadine Gordimer, South African writer, political activist, and Nobel laureate.
ARTIFACT: An artifact is an object made or modified by human hands, often of historical or cultural significance. Artifacts are physical, intentionally created items that provide insight into the technology, culture, and practices of the people who created them.
The Rosetta Stone: An archeological artifact that was instrumental in deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Discovered in 1799, this granodiorite stele (ancient stone monument or slab) bears a decree inscribed in three scripts—hieroglyphs, Demotic, and Ancient Greek. This allowed scholars to decipher previously undeciphered hieroglyphs and gain a deeper understanding of ancient Egyptian language, history, and culture.
Journalism is a professional practice of gathering and presenting information, while news is the information itself.
All journalism aims to present news, but not all news is the result of journalism.
The stories we tell have the power to shape our reality and our relationships with others and the world around us.
They become our cultural history. Our artifacts. As our physical newspapers and books disappear, so do our stories.
Without concerted preservation efforts, many of our works will be lost over time.
It is estimated that around four-fifths of the information and knowledge generated on the Internet since its creation has disappeared — The Digital Black Hole
At a time when digital objects are being generated everywhere and technology is changing at unprecedented speed, developing an archiving strategy for these objects is like chasing a moving train. Digital Preservation — The uncertain future of saving the past
There will be no digital granodiorite stele to leave behind a history of our events adhering to the principles of journalism. “The Elements of Journalism.”
Journalism for the masses has become oversimplified, a stark contrast to the four elements. The content prioritizes sensationalism and superficiality over thorough, balanced reporting on significant matters, resulting in a less intellectually demanding and more dumbed-down portrayal of events and issues. With everything moving online, digital will soon be the only venue.
Essentially, we are wiping out all traces of our existence by producing only digital versions of literature and journals (see Digital Preservation — The uncertain future of saving the past). Vast libraries of knowledge, information, and investigative journalism will disappear into the digital black hole.
Our stories. Our history.
The erosion of journalism is not just a victim of a digitized medium but of a cultural shift away from reality and towards a non-existing utopia.
This is a recent sample of the ‘news’ my phone shows me even though none of these are the type of headlines I have ever clicked on. All of these require a paid subscription to read and yet they are the most popular.
Why be real when you can be happy?
At what point do we say no to this feel-good crap that has replaced complex, reality-based reporting? Too many publications and broadcasters cater to readers seeking escapism from real news with sensationalism, clickbait headlines, and superficial reporting instead of investigative, factual journalism.
“The role of a writer is not to say what we can all say, but what we are unable to say.” — Anaïs Nin, French-Cuban American diarist, essayist, and novelist.
Grievance Number One: Social Media and the Rise of Click Bait
In our era of shrinking newsroom budgets and a 24/7 news cycle, the time-consuming and resource-intensive practice of investigative journalism has increasingly become the exception rather than the norm. Instead, we turn to social media for our ‘news.’
The rise of social media has significantly contributed to the dumbing down and slow death of journalism. Competing with social media sensations like Facebook and X (Twitter) is pushing publishers to prioritize shorter, more sensational content over quality journalism to compete in the accelerated pace of the digital landscape.
The pressure is on to make it easily digestible and shareable with attention-grabbing headlines and visuals. It is becoming the norm.
And for God’s sake, keep it short!
“We have already seen some negative effects, including more isolation, less ability to focus, more ability to be deceived by bad actors (fake news) and so on. I do not see those lessening. Sadly.” — Rich Salz, principal engineer at Akamai Technologies on the effects of social media.
Check out the study. The algorithms used by social media platforms focus on content that generates high levels of engagement. Measured by likes, comments, claps, and shares. As a result, publications are moving toward creating content that is more likely to go viral, even though it lacks substance or accuracy.
Are you okay with reading lies presented as truth?
A 2018 study published by Science.org found that lies spread faster than the truth at least six times more on Twitter — now X. As more outlets prioritize shareability over accuracy, it becomes harder for the public to distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources of information. This confusion can lead to a general sense of mistrust toward all media institutions, as people become unsure of where to turn for accurate news and information.
“In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” — George Orwell, English novelist, essayist, and journalist.
Here’s another soapbox for me. The rise of social media has also led to diminishing attention spans. This has further contributed to the dumbing down of media and the dumbing down of people. Readers are less likely to engage with long-form content and more likely to skim articles or read only the headlines or subheadings. And folks skip it altogether, if the article takes more than two or three minutes to read.
Instant gratification gives the illusion of happiness.
“The grand internet experiment is slowly derailing. The technologies that 50 years ago we could only dream of in science fiction novels, which we then actually created with so much faith and hope in their power to unite us and make us freer, have been co-opted into tools of surveillance, behavioral manipulation, radicalization and addiction.” — anonymous research scientist and professor
To adapt to these challenges, publications are experimenting with new formats and storytelling techniques tailored to the ephemeral nature of the digital age. Hoping to slow the erosion, The Washington Post, Mapping America, and The New York Times, “What Happened in One of Israel’s Deadliest Attacks in Gaza,” have invested heavily in visual journalism. WP has dedicated its climate coverage to visual journalism including interactive maps to personalize the experience.
Mapping America’s access to nature, neighborhood by neighborhood
These immersive multimedia experiences combine text, images, interactive apps, and video to engage readers. They are exceptional but will have a limited lifespan because of the digital black hole they will be lost to. Most of this content will disappear before Generation Z dies out.
And these engaging online immersive storytelling techniques do not address the underlying issue of the dumbing down of journalism as it fades into oblivion, taking our artifacts with it. I’ve witnessed a gradual decrease in the quality of visual journalism as it struggles to engage audiences and convey complex information clearly but quickly. You can have it faster but you can’t have better.
“The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.” — Malcolm X, African American minister and human rights activist.
Grievance Number Two: Economic Pressures
Under increasing pressure to generate clicks and views online, publishers have become more reliant on advertising revenue, which is tied to the number of clicks an article receives. This has led to the proliferation of clickbait headlines and sensationalized content designed to grab readers’ attention. More monkeys to watch but less substance.
As of 2023, there are approximately 1,227 daily newspapers, 5,127 weekly newspapers, and over 6,000 news websites in the United States. However, these figures are estimates and do not account for the numerous blogs, podcasts, and other digital platforms that cover news and current events.
By the end of 2024, one-third of U.S. newspapers will have disappeared since 2005. Presently, of the 3,143 counties in the U.S., there are 204 counties (a.k.a. “news deserts”) without any local newspaper. Moreover, there are now 1,562 counties (over one-half of all counties) with just one newspaper. Often times that newspaper is published weekly. — Forbes
It’s not rocket science to see why publications struggle to stay afloat in an increasingly competitive and digitized landscape. The decline in advertising revenue, coupled with the rise of clickbait digital media, has forced many publications to cut costs and produce content that generates quick engagement at the expense of quality journalism.
What’s Going On in This Graph? | Local News Outlets
What is the current state of local journalism?
Traditionally print media has relied heavily on advertising revenue to support their operations. With the advent of digital media, advertisers have shifted their spending to online platforms that offer more targeted and measurable advertising options.
But growth has been slow for ad revenue online.
The Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan think tank, regularly publishes reports on the state of the media industry. In their “Newspapers Fact Sheet” from June 29, 2021, they provide data on print and digital advertising revenue for U.S. newspapers.
In 2020, print advertising revenue for U.S. newspapers declined by 29% to $8.8 billion. This sharp drop was due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Digital advertising revenue for U.S. newspapers also fell in 2020 by 0.8% to $3.1 billion.
Over the past decade, print advertising revenue for U.S. newspapers has been steadily declining. In 2010, print advertising revenue was $22.8 billion, compared to $8.8 billion in 2020, a decrease of 61.4%.
Digital advertising revenue for U.S. newspapers has grown modestly over the past decade. Spending was $3.0 billion in 2010 and only $3.1 billion in 2020, an increase of 3.3%.
This decline in advertising revenue puts immense pressure on news media to find new ways to generate income. Some publications have turned to paywalls and subscription models. Others have focused on increasing their online presence and generating revenue through digital advertising. These strategies have not always been successful, and many publications have been forced to make significant cuts to their budgets and staff.
“The job of the newspaper is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” — Finley Peter Dunne, American humorist and journalist
In 2019, the 182-year-old New Orleans Times-Picayune was sold to a rival publication and ceased daily print publication. This was one of America's oldest and most prestigious newspapers.
This move resulted in the layoff of nearly all of the paper’s staff, including many veteran journalists. Similarly, in 2018, The Denver Post announced it would be cutting 30 positions—nearly one-third of its newsroom staff—due to declining revenue and increased competition from digital media.
These cuts are just an example of the increasing closures of daily newspapers. Their loss has impacted the quality of journalism produced by print and online news media. Due to reduced resources and staff, newspapers that were once the cornerstone of an informed public are now increasingly focused on producing content designed to generate rapid engagement rather than in-depth reporting.
Clickbait headlines and sensationalized stories do generate prolific engagement. It’s a quick fix as publications struggle to maintain their standards of reporting and analysis in the face of economic pressures. As pressures increase, overall quality declines and their credibility is eroded.
With the escalation of online news sources and social media platforms, readers have more options than ever before for consuming news and information. But what are they consuming?
To address these challenges, some publications have experimented with new business models and revenue streams. The Guardian, a British newspaper with a US outlet, has successfully implemented a membership model that relies on voluntary contributions from readers to support its journalism.
The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit news organization, has built a sustainable business model through a combination of memberships, events, and sponsorships.
These models are not without their challenges. They require a huge investment of time and resources to implement successfully. And they do not address the underlying economic pressures facing the mother of journalism—long-form print media—which are likely to persist as digital media continues to evolve and expand. Approximately 72% of what folks consume as news is from online sources and this includes SocialMedia.
14th June 2023
A significant portion of that 72% is viral content and consists of the following.
Clickbait headlines
Memes
Viral challenges
Conspiracy theories
Celebrity gossip
Quizzes and personality tests
Cute animal videos
Prank videos
Journalism can never be silent: that is its greatest virtue and its greatest fault. It must speak, and speak immediately, while the echoes of wonder, the claims of triumph and the signs of horror are still in the air.” — Henry Anatole Grunwald, Austrian-born American journalist and diplomat.
Grievance Number Three: Lies, lies, and more lies
Propaganda and disinformation campaigns rely heavily on fear-mongering, scapegoating certain groups, and repeating false claims until they are accepted as true by many. These techniques are the foundation of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, Red Scare tactics (radical left-wing scare), and homophobic and racist ideologies spread through media and institutions.
When you access your smartphone or online news reader, you will encounter a constant barrage of deceptive techniques used to spread misinformation. The content you see is tailored to your personal worldview, based on how you have been profiled by tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Twitter (now known as X).
AlgorithmWatch is a non-profit research and advocacy organization that evaluates and sheds light on algorithmic decision-making processes that have social relevance.
These platforms use algorithms to curate content that aligns with your beliefs and biases, often prioritizing sensationalism, fear-mongering, and hate-driven narratives over factual accuracy. As a result, the information presented to you may contain little to no truth, but instead serves to reinforce and amplify existing prejudices and anxieties.
Cults and authoritarian systems frequently use a combination of fear (of punishment or excommunication), promised rewards (spiritual, material or social), and constant reinforcement of the group’s doctrines to indoctrinate members and ensure loyalty and obedience, even to dangerous or illogical beliefs. Political cults do exist. They are eroding democracy everywhere.
Advertising and political messaging also tap into these levers, associating positive emotions with a product/candidate through repetition, while stoking anxiety and fear of the opposition.
These are potent psychological forces that can override critical thinking. The antidote is encouraging more awareness of these manipulation tactics, teaching critical media literacy and scientific skepticism, and limiting the ability of powerful interests to flood the zone with self-serving narratives.
But it’s an ongoing challenge in an attention economy that incentivizes sensationalism and knows how to exploit our fears and tribal instincts.
“False rumors don’t just repeat themselves; they evolve and get stronger.” — The Misinformation Age: How False Beliefs Spread by Cailin O’Connor and James Owen Weatherall
The Illusory Truth Effect is a psychological phenomenon where people tend to believe information that they have repeatedly heard or seen, even if that information is false. This effect, along with similar phenomena, is often exploited by media outlets and online platforms to spread and strengthen false beliefs without people realizing it.
How do we teach media literacy and fact-checking to adults to mitigate the negative effects of the repetition of misinformation? At the very least, we need to be teaching it in schools.
The cognitive biases at play here are entrenched and not easy to turn around, making the spread of false beliefs an ongoing challenge in our media landscape. As previously stated, false information spreads six times faster than truthful information on the social media platform X (Twitter).
We believe misinformation more easily when it’s repeated many times. This tactic has been in play for years by every fascist and dictator on the planet.
Here are a few specific examples and studies.
Fake News and the Illusory Truth Effect: A study by Pennycook, Cannon and Rand (2018) found that when participants were repeatedly exposed to fake news headlines, they were more likely to perceive these headlines as accurate, even when the headlines were labeled as disputed by fact-checkers.
Repetition can override critical thinking and fact-checking warnings.
Political Misinformation and the Illusory Truth Effect: Pennycook et al. (2020) found repetition of political misinformation increased belief in false claims. Regardless of political ideology.
This effect was found even when participants were warned about possible misinformation, highlighting the insidious power of repetition.
The Continued Influence Effect: Related to the Illusory Truth Effect, this refers to the finding that misinformation can continue to influence beliefs and reasoning. Even after it has been debunked.
Studies by Lewandowsky et al. (2012) and others have shown how difficult it is to correct deeply ingrained false beliefs, particularly in politicized contexts.
Echo Chambers and Confirmation Bias: Online echo chambers and filter bubbles can amplify the Illusory Truth Effect by repeatedly exposing people to false information that aligns with their existing beliefs.
Studies by Del Vicario et al. (2016) and others have demonstrated how these online environments can reinforce and spread misinformation.
Advertising and the Illusory Truth Effect: A classic study by Hawkins and Hoch (1992) found repeated exposure to advertising claims increased belief in those claims.
Participants were told that the claims came from advertisements and not from unbiased sources but they still believed it to be truth.
“Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it.” — Hannah Arendt, German-American philosopher and political theorist.
Grievance Number Four: Responsibility of Readers
You, me — all of us — are responsible for shaping media content. While publications bear much of the blame for the decline in the quality of journalism, our choices and preferences as readers play a major role in determining the type of content produced and consumed. Are we the puppets or the puppet masters?
In the digital age, we the readers have more power than ever to influence media content through our clicking, sharing, clapping, and engagement behavior. Publications often cater to these preferences to attract and retain attention.
These behaviors have led to a rise in clickbait headlines, sensationalized stories, and a focus on entertainment and lifestyle content over hard news and in-depth reporting. Readers’ preferences can create a feedback loop that reinforces the dumbing down of media.
Publications have a responsibility to maintain journalistic integrity and produce high-quality, informative content. Even if it’s not always the most popular. But what will motivate them? We can.
We hold the power and bear the responsibility to be discerning in our choices as consumers. It falls upon us to proactively seek out a diverse range of reliable sources.
If we support publications that place a premium on substantive, in-depth reporting, we possess the ability to counteract the pervasive trend of media content becoming simplistic and superficial.
Readers can play a constructive role in shaping media for the better, as The Guardian’s voluntary contribution campaign and participatory journalism experiments have proven.
Reversing the dumbing down of media requires a collaborative effort from publications, readers, advertisers, and policymakers. It’s time to rethink business models and the role of journalism before it’s too late.
If we take action, we can all play a part in promoting informed and engaged public discourse. Choose quality journalism over clickbait.
I realize the dumbing down of media is a complex issue. Economic realities and structural challenges play a big part and we don’t have control over those influences. By being conscious of our role as readers and making intentional choices about the content we consume and support, we can be part of the solution. Not the problem.
News media, social media, and search engines have become so biased, politicized, and personalized that we are often stuck inside filter bubbles, where we’re only exposed to information and ideas we already agree with. AllSides Media Bias Chart
There are several reputable and investigative journalistic news sources currently operating. Find one that resonates with you and commit to reading a couple of in-depth articles a week.
Here are a few well-regarded examples in no order of preference. An authentic ‘newspaper’ will label which columns are opinions and which are reporting facts rather than convince you that ‘opinions’ are ‘facts.’
The Washington Post: A leading source for national and international news. A strong emphasis on political reporting and investigative journalism.
The New York Times: Well known for its comprehensive coverage of national and international news. Quality in-depth investigative reporting.
The Wall Street Journal: WSJ focuses on business and financial news. It also covers a wide range of political and general interest stories.
The Guardian: One of the good guys in Britain and the US. The newspaper offers extensive coverage of global news. With a major focus on social justice and environmental issues.
BBC News: A popular outlet worldwide. The British Broadcasting Corporation’s news division is known for its impartial and in-depth coverage of international events.
Al Jazeera: One of the largest news organizations in the world and is popular for its coverage of Middle Eastern affairs, international news, and current events.
NPR (National Public Radio): NPR is a non-profit organization that produces in-depth radio and online journalism. They cover everything from politics to culture. Public support is a major funding source for them and highlights how folks are hungry for real news and stories.
ProPublica: An independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. Often in collaboration with other media outlets.
Reuters: A global news agency that provides impartial coverage of international events. With a focus on business and financial news.
The Economist: Offers in-depth analysis of global events. They have a particular emphasis on economics and politics. It is published weekly.
The Associated Press (AP): AP is the go-to network for a lot of news sources. A non-profit news agency that provides factual, unbiased coverage of national and international events to media outlets worldwide.
These are just a few examples of the many reputable journalistic news sources available. It’s always a good idea to consult multiple sources to get a well-rounded understanding of events and issues. Many of them offer free content or free trials with a very reasonable subscription price.
“It matters what matters we use to think other matters with; it matters what stories we tell to tell other stories with; it matters what knots knot knots, what thoughts think thoughts, what descriptions describe descriptions, what ties tie ties. It matters what stories make worlds, what worlds make stories.” — Donna J. Haraway
Donna J. Haraway — Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene, (2016)
Haraway is a prominent scholar in the field of science and technology studies. She uses this quote to emphasize the importance of the narratives and frameworks we use to understand and describe the world.
She argues that the stories we tell have the power to shape our reality and our relationships with each other and with the world around us.
Support your local journalist! We need the artifacts.
Worth reading: The Future of Well-Being in a Tech-Saturated World
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