Many businesses have suffered due to the pandemic, and the journalism industry was not spared. It has been threatened both in terms of difficulties accessing global news, and a the abundance of fake news, made all the more present by social media.
According to statista.com, since 2006 50% of internet users in 17 countries use social network platforms to keep up to date with current news.
In March 2020, Statista found that 74% of global news consumers were worried about fake news about the coronavirus circulating on social media. During the same timeframe, a study by Pew Research Centre also found that 68% of U.S news consumers thought the media exaggerated the coronavirus outbreak.
Fake news continues to circulate through various media outlets, but whilst this may be the case, there are still many journalists who aims to provide authentic, real news. One example is Jane Wyatt, 64, who’s had an interest in the industry since she quite young.
“I remember watching the Vietnam War on the TV with my dad and being upset about it, so that was probably the earliest thing in my life that made me want to be a journalist,” she says.
Jane has worked in the field since 1974. Her roles involve former lecturer, launching whyatwrittersretreats.net and working for Angel Media Productions CIC, the European Centre for Press & Media Freedom. She also has a monthly radio show, Password on Resonance FM as well as writes for Netopia.eu
In her radio show, Jane creates podcasts about technology and its impact into society. Next week’s programme will feature the subject of social exclusion.
“I really enjoy making these programmes, finding out what’s going on in the world of technology, getting behind the public relations front of it and examining what it means for real people,” she says.
As well as journalists like Jane, there are also those just starting up in the industry who see themselves as warriors in the battle against fake news.
Eve Davies, 20, is a student at Cardiff University. Now in her first year studying English Literature and Creative Writing, she writes for the platform Empoword Journalism as well as produced Quench, a student magazine about food and drink that’s currently been shortlisted for Best Magazine Design by the SPA Journalism Magazine Awards.
Eve says she really enjoys writing and has found the pandemic has helped create a positive outcome for her work.
“In terms of journalism with the pandemic I feel like because I’ve had so much free time, I’ve spent time looking at different platforms, exceling pieces to a lot of online magazine.
“I feel like if the pandemic hadn’t happened, I may not have like gone into that as much and it’s been like a big help in that way.”
Eve hopes to pursue a career in magazine journalism after university and her aim is keep to ethical standards in her journalistic career.
“In a country where 45% of adults encounter fake news daily, it is important to be vigilant when it comes to our news consumption. Whether it be to catch audience attention, make money, or damage the reputation of others, I believe that publishing fake news is irresponsible and humiliating. To ensure I produce real information, I use reliable sources and ask real people for trustworthy evidence to back the subject of my articles”
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