Journalism is here to stay despite changes

The advent of radio, many predicted, signalled a difficult time for newspapers. The radio, a medium that allowed you to do ‘your thing’ and still get informed or entertained, would be endearing to many. Driving to work through heavy traffic, could still be fun with the right radio station on. From towns to villages, the radio curved its space. Yet, even radio has had to endure intense competition, rendering many radio stations unviable entities in our context.

Television, possessing what was seen as the most powerful effects, threatened to bury print media. The visual power of television would keep people glued to the screen. More so, television brought the family together and catered to all categories of audiences.

With indigenous programming and subsequent interactivity made possible for both radio and television, the newspaper seemed to have been staring at a possibly existential threat. Yet, television, in much of developing countries, remained a mainstay for a very small audience.

The newspaper continued to linger on. Enter the internet. The fate of the newspaper appeared to have been sealed. Print media in general appeared to have been destined for death. Some even predicted, that Amazon would make the printed book and ultimately libraries less relevant, with the kindle providing readers with incredible reading convenience and experiences. Social media is literally giving all legacy media platforms a bloody nose, so to speak.

Much of the discussion on platforms has tended to suggest how much journalism is in trouble. Yet, years of innovation in media have shown us that news survives.

The way journalism was done itself cannot stay the same with citizen journalists informing and entertaining, roles previously a preserve of journalists. Who needs training to be a journalist when social influencers now have their own space in the industry, and many of them did not need journalism training? Advertising has also found its way out of the mainstream media.

With significant changes in higher education and the training of journalism, in particular, there is no doubt that old-style journalism with its cardinal news values has shifted. The nature of power has also changed in ways bound to challenge leaders who thrived on killing critical journalism to stay in power. The manner in which we relate with news sources and who they are has changed. Yet, it is not time to say journalism in all its forms is dead.

Platforms have changed, but not the hunger for information. Good journalists are needed now more than ever. Bringing together media actors, Media Focus Africa facilitated a conversation last week on the future of journalism. They have held amazing engagements for the last few years on media development and the role of journalism. The question is, how can journalism and journalists remain relevant in the face of these changes in the media landscape?

From the account above, the arrival of each platform or major technological change deemed disruptive for older platforms have most times, shown us one thing, the enduring nature of news.

One can say, journalism is here to stay. But it is reinventing itself in terms of who tells our stories, how they are told, and where we find these stories. It also means that those who consume news have different expectations, a lot more options in terms of access and utility, and can afford to push back in real-time, without the need to be given permission by news gatekeepers.

While many have tended to see these changes as disruptive, they have also brought innovative ways to tell stories and bring in more nuances to each of the stories at our disposal. What stories are told, whose stories are told, and how they are told, now takes power away from those who held it not long ago. Even the very concept of who makes news, is ever changing.

Many people see the loss of trust in news, the declining news values reported in global digital reports, the persistent misinformation and falsification of news as the death of journalism.

We mumble with things like retooling of journalists, investment in technology, better pay for journalists, innovative ways of teaching journalism students, and so on as key for saving journalism. We make it seem like, all these things depend on us. The truth is, a lot more of it depends on society.

For the most part, the media reflects the changes in our societal values. The social transformation in our society, complete with the undesirable aspects, accounts for much of what we are seeing. We hope that journalists will be ethical professionals, when the value of ethics has deeply eroded in society.

These conversations on journalism and the changing media landscape have to continue to avoid conceptual challenges. Good journalists will always be needed, whether trained in school or otherwise, but can play the role of journalism.

Ms Maractho (PhD) is the director of Africa Policy Centre and senior lecturer at Uganda Christian University.                       [email protected]