Nora Roney
Professor W. Scott Olsen
English 110
13 March 2026
Why Journalism Still Matters When Everyone Reports the News
Journalism is an increasingly underappreciated yet important aspect of the world today. Journalists are those responsible for much of the information that the public receives. They are the ones who gather information, verify it, and present it (Horcher 3:38). Thus, they often hold the power to influence public perceptions and sway opinions. Consequently, journalists have to be very cognizant of the accuracy of their information in order to ensure that the public is not exposed to incomplete or incorrect information. As a result, journalists receive training to guarantee that they can present objective, accurate information (Dekker 8:41) that will allow the recipients to understand, learn, and, potentially, form their own opinions about events. Due to the responsibilities of their profession, journalists have always been relevant to the information portrayed in mass media.
The informational side of mass media consists of magazines, television channels, radio, and newspapers that distribute information, typically about people and worldly happenings, to the general public. Along with this information, however, sometimes comes attitudes, beliefs, and feelings. As a result, the media has a strong influence on the perceptions of those who receive it. Take, for example, the listeners of the radio show “Invasion from Mars.” What was supposed to be a simple play recitation over the radio ended up causing mass panic in those who heard it (Weimann 6). This supposedly clear work of fiction was, in fact, perceived as reality partly because of the talent of the actors, but also because of the method in which it was presented—over the radio. However, with more modern technological advancements, mass media has slowly been replaced by social media.
Although they are largely meant for entertainment and communication, social media platforms have largely taken over, especially in countries like the United States, as a main source of news. There are multiple reasons for this. The first, and likely largest reason for this shift, is the amount of time people spend on social media. Platforms such as TikTok and Instagram are designed to be addictive, resulting in users spending much of their time using them. Yayu Feng, an assistant professor in the Department of Emerging Media at the University of St. Thomas, claims that this is what causes many in the current generation to get most of their news and information from influencers (Dekker 2:31). After all, the more time spent on a site, the more content that one is exposed to. Moreover, the statistics back up her claim. According to “Social media and News Fact Sheet,” over half of American adults get their news from social media (Atske). Although social media itself is addictive, there are many other reasons for it taking over as a main source of information. Social media is both convenient and fast (Wang). Rather than having to search for information and read long articles, users can quickly swipe through short, entertaining videos that supposedly summarize all of the necessary information about a particular topic or event. Furthermore, social media brings elements of social interaction to information reception (Wang). Users are able to leave comments and converse with others on a post, allowing for opinions to be shared and validated quickly. Finaly, the visuals used to convey information on social media tend to grasp a larger audience (Rethinking Social Media and Extremism 97). People tend to be drawn to the aesthetically pleasing. Combining this with the fact that visuals are often easier for people to comprehend explains why people so easily switched to a simpler to understand method of receiving information. Along with the many reasons for the switch to social media come a couple benefits.
One benefit of the switch from mass media to social media is audience reach. So many people use social media for a variety of reasons in their everyday life. Some use it for scrolling and entertainment, others for communication and sharing things about their lives. With so many people actively engaging with the platforms, social media has “the ability to reach a wider and more varied audience” (Walsh 15). Typically, watching the news or reading articles is something done by the older generations, with the younger generation only really receiving this information occasionally while in school or watching when their parents do. With social media becoming a large transmitter of news and information, the younger generation is actually more likely to receive and interact with it. Furthermore, as social media continues to reach larger audiences, more perspectives can be seen (30) because there is such a wide variety in the groups interacting with it. Moreover, the switch from mass media to social media has benefited information accessibility.
Social media has made it a lot easier for people to access information. With just about everything being put online, whether it be to actual websites or to platforms like Twitter, TikTok, Reddit, and Instagram, everything can be digitally accessed all of the time (Walsh 15). This makes it a lot easier for people to gather information. Rather than having to find newspapers or long news reports, people can look it up and watch some quick videos to learn about topics or events. Additionally, social media makes it easy to “filter out…[the] noise” (Schwartz 12:16) because there are hashtags (Schwartz 7:53) and other filters that users can easier apply to easily find specifics about the information that they are searching for. Furthermore, as cable TV has fallen out of popularity with the increase in streaming services, it has become easier to just get information from the social media platforms that people already use every day, rather than having to actively seek out media channels or articles. Unfortunately, there are many downsides to using social media as a source of news.
Social media, while making it easier for users to receive information, is not always spreading correct information. The use of social media as news has actually led to the mass spread of fake news, which is false information and the imitation of it in order to give an impression of real news (Majerczak 1). Often, fake news spreads faster than real news because it is the things that shock people and invoke emotion that are most often shared (Horcher 8:18). However, not all fake news is spread maliciously. There is a big difference between disinformation and misinformation. According to dictionary.com, disinformation is “deliberately misleading or biased information; manipulated narrative or facts; propaganda,” while misinformation is false information that is spread, regardless of whether there is intent to mislead.” So, while the original creators of fake news might be intentionally giving out incorrect information, it spreads because people do not bother to verify and check the information before they spread it. Disinformation and a lazy population lead to more and more misinformation. Going along with this, however, is a lack of accuracy in news and information spread on social media.
Unfortunately, information and news spread on social media is not always accurate or covered as in-depth as it should be. As more and more content creators focus on producing news content, more and more content is reaching the public. Unfortunately, not all of their content is accurate. Influencers do not receive the same training that journalists do, so, while they do bring a lot more attention to various topics and events (Dekker 12:17), they are not always presenting the right information. Some influencers do take the time to make sure their information is accurate, but not all do. As a result, their good intentions result in mistakes and flawed information getting out to the public (Horcher 6:15). Furthermore, Ali Gostanian, a reporter for NBC News’ Social Newsgathering team, claims that people often forget to think critically when using social media and believe that the videos they see are always factual (Dekker 39:39). So, people are receiving inaccurate information and then do not go fact-check it themselves. Instead, they might spread it as well, furthering the misinformation problem. Following inaccurate information is biased information, another problem with information from social media.
As platforms where anyone can post just about anything, social media sites contain a lot of biased information. To reiterate, content creators lack the training that journalists receive (Dekker 12:17). This means that they are not trained to be objective in their reporting and to keep their personal opinions out of stories. While biases in information are not always inherently bad, they do affect the perceptions of those who receive the information. As a result, content creators might accidentally be having a negative affect on the opinions of the public. Furthermore, social media sites themselves encourage biased opinions. Each platform’s algorithm, the programming the curates a person’s feed, is designed to keep people engaged. As a result, each user is shown a different compilation of videos. While this does help users find like-minded people (Rethinking Social Media and Extremism 87) by showing them media that “reinforces [their] feelings, beliefs, and perceptions” (92). This is problematic because it can also limit the information a person receives by preventing them from seeing information and opinions that they do not agree with about various topics. Another thing that allows bias to form on social media is that anyone can post about any topic.
Social media sites do not verify what is posted when it is posted or who is posting it. In fact, most social media sites rely on users to report various posts or accounts. In 2019, the Christchurch massacre, a terrible event where a shooter attacked two mosques in Christchurch, a city in New Zealand, and killed many people (Rethinking Social Media and Extremism 13) was livestreamed on Facebook by the shooter (14), where the video was copied and reupload thousands of times to other social media platforms like YouTube (19). This was possible because of the lack of restrictions on content posting. While it may seem good that people can post live events on social media, and it is at times, it also gives people like the shooter an outlet with which to spread a hate agenda. Social media sites realized how problematic this was after the event, but it is a difficult problem to solve. Though companies have created technologies that automatically block certain content (19), there are many ways to get around the screening methods. Among these are small alterations, things like watermarks, and videos of videos (20). Additionally, users who are blocked or banned because of the content they post can easily switch platforms or create new accounts that allow them to keep spreading content. With all these negatives outweighing the positives of social media, proper journalists are more important than ever.
In an age of rapid news and misinformation, journalists are necessary in order to keep the public properly informed. A lot of the previously mentioned problems with using social media as a news and information source do not apply to proper journalists. The training they receive allows them to present accurate, unbiased reporting in a way that content creators are unable to. This is supported by Kim Horcher, a previous Emmy-winning broadcast journalist and current host and digital creator, supports this idea when she claims that where a person is getting their information from and who is telling it matters (Horcher 0:48). It goes along with the idea that a person would not let a plumber come do the electricity for their house. They would want the professional who knows what they are doing. Journalists know what they are doing and how to do it in a way that does not lead the public down a specific path. Instead, they get it out properly in a way that allows the public to “construct their own understanding of a situation” (Walsh 158). In fact, many journalists have claimed that rather than falling out of practice, journalism is changing with social media.
As social media use increases, the field of journalism has adapted. One of the biggest adaptations of the field involves the creation of social news gathering teams, which are teams of reporters who find, verify, and report on breaking news and trending stories (Schwartz 1:43). The interesting thing about these teams is that social media is involved in almost all aspects of their reporting (Schwartz 1:57), whether that be using it to find a story or even reaching out to the owner of the account who posted a story. These teams can find stories and experiences from all sorts of people on platforms like TikTok or Instagram that a story can be built upon (Schwartz 8:57). This journalism adaptation actually allows journalists to connect with more people and share the stories of those whose voices might have previously been unable to be heard. Furthermore, social media has directed affected what journalists can publish. When using mass media sites, journalists have to go through publishers and editors to get their stories out to the public. At any time, their story could be scraped and their work rendered useless. “Now,” Shahidul Alam, a photographer and photo agency founder, claims, “making your work visible is far easier” (Walsh 63) because journalists have the option to self-publish (63). Instead of being forced to go through countless other people to get their work seen, journalists can post on social media to get their work out to the public. As a result, journalists can both present accurate and unbiased information to a wide variety of people while also countering some of the misinformation posted to the platforms. Ultimately, instead of becoming obsolete, journalists have instead adapted to the new world of social media news.
Overall, journalists remain important, especially in a world where anyone can publish information for others. In the modern era, news consumption has largely switched from mass media to social media, this switch bringing along with it some benefits and a host of problems. As a result, the importance of journalists and proper journalism has increased. Mass media, while still presenting information to the public, has fallen behind social media sites as a main source of information. Social media has largely taken over due to its mass use, ease of use, and how easy it is to comprehend the information presented there. While this has made it easier to reach wider and more varied audiences and to access information, it has come with many problems. Fake or inaccurate news and the spread of misinformation run rampant. Additionally, much of the information presented on social media is biased because content creators do not receive the same training that proper journalists do. However, rather than becoming obsolete, journalists have become necessary to properly informing the public and have adapted in ways that allow them to do just that. In the end, journalists are a vital defense that ensures the public knows the difference between fact and fiction.
Works Cited
Atske, Sara. “Social Media and News Fact Sheet.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 25 Sept. 2025, www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/social-media-and-news-fact-sheet/?cb_viewport=mobile.
Dekker, Stefanie. “Are influencers a trustworthy source of news?” Al Jazeera, 29 July 2025, https://www.aljazeera.com/video/the-stream/2025/7/29/are-influencers-a-trustworthy-source-of-news.
Horcher, Kim and Ajay Patel. “Is journalism dead or evolving? Outside the Fox.” YouTube, uploaded by Firefox, 25 June 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3So2nyoKX8.
Majerczak, Przemysław, and Artur Strzelecki. “Trust, Media Credibility, Social Ties, and the Intention to Share towards Information Verification in an Age of Fake News.” Behavioral Sciences, vol. 12, no. 2, 2022, pp. 1, https://doi.org/10.3390/bs12020051.
Rethinking Social Media and Extremism, edited by Shirley Leitch, and Paul Pickering, ANU Press, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central, pp. 13-97, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/cord-ebooks/detail.action?docID=7023487.
Schwartz, Gadi. “Check the Source: Social Media as a Newsgathering Tool: Next Level Summit.” YouTube, uploaded by NBCU Academy, 19 October 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYcWNMNy11Q.
Walsh, Lauren. Conversations on Conflict Photography. Routledge, Taylor & Francis, 2020, pp. 15-158, https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781003103479.
Wang, Luxuan and Naomi Forma-Katz. “Many Americans find value in getting news on social media, but concerns about inaccuracy have risen.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 7 February 2024, https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/02/07/many-americans-find-value-in-getting-news-on-social-media-but-concerns-about-inaccuracy-have-risen/.
Weimann, Gabriel. Communicating Unreality : Modern Media and the Reconstruction of Reality, SAGE Publications, Incorporated, 1999. ProQuest Ebook Central, pp. 6, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/cord-ebooks/detail.action?docID=996692.