News faces massive challenges

KAMLOOPS — Two weeks ago, I lamented the dilemma facing news organizations. I asked “who is going to protect journalistic integrity” in light of the challenges facing news organizations large and small. A new report out Thursday reinforces those concerns, and some disturbing comments about where U.S. voters got their election news scare me even more.

On Thursday, results of a study ordered by Heritage Minister Melanie Joly pointed out the need for drastic change to help shore up Canada’s news industry as it faces a massive decline in revenues. The report calls for taxes on foreign companies selling digital subscriptions in Canada, and other fundraising measures to keep legitimate news viable. It’s a major concern, because the report also addressed the growing “fake news” problem which is rearing its ugly head all around the world. When I look at social media sites, you often see headlines that relate to some sort of major issue. Some of them are blatant attacks on public figures, some of them stir up anxiety over economic issues, military threats and the list goes on. They are hard to stop, but they are a major issue. They look like real news sites, but they are not. People often don’t know what to believe. And our traditional news media are hard-pressed to provide legitimate coverage to issues so that people have a “trusted” source. And with more and more people seemingly getting their “news” through social media sites, not having the trusted source leaves us out in no man’s land.

It was not surprising to me that a recent poll in the U.S. showed a huge number of people got their election “news” through Facebook sites. CNN was mentioned, and Fox News and MSNBC were mentioned. But traditional networks like CBS, ABC, and NBC received scant mention. That’s disturbing, because it indicates that more and more people are relying on “fringe” news posts on social media than the traditional ways they received their news. Because of the fake news crisis developing, it’s a concern that people are relying on social media for almost all their news. I hear people commenting all the time about issues, and much of what they talk about is utter nonsense, gleaned from misinformation and downright lies. It’s not that their opinions are different than mine. That’s not the point. It’s that their opinions are based on inaccuracies, misconceptions, and a distortion of truth.

But here’s a question- if people want to believe some of this crap, and if they don’t have faith in their traditional media, should they be required to finance it? If they don’t care about local news enough to support their local electronic or print media, should we force them into paying for it? If they don’t care enough about accurate information from the major Canadian or American networks, should they be forced to pay for it? Reality tells me they should. Traditional media are far from perfect. But somewhere there has to be a safeguard to protect journalistic integrity, and if that doesn’t happen, we really are in a dark, deep, downward spiral. Alternative facts and fake news will be just the beginning.