So, it turns out that “fake news” is actually news after all!
Today, Collins Dictionary announced the word – although it should really be phrase – of the year is indeed, fake news.
It seems to be everywhere, from the moment you log onto your social media platforms you are confronted with a question – can I trust this article?
Social media platforms have vowed to stamp out its growing popularity, but the whole subject got me thinking about news in general.
As a journalist (well, any writer with any credibility, really) you have it in you to check the facts before it goes to print. Nothing left (or leaves) my laptop to go to the sub-editor/account manager/client without being checked first.
Had I failed to do that my career in an industry I still love would have been a lot shorter.
I qualified as a journalist almost 20 years ago, when the internet was still in its infancy content-wise and the newspaper sales were still relatively healthy.
The buzz of seeing your name on the front page of the paper is something I will never forget; I’ve still got my first “splash”. I’ve lost count of the number I had but I can tell you every one was a different challenge and everyone affected someone you had come across.
Local reporting is the life-blood of journalism. The broadcasters you see on your TV now all started off as cub reporters in some regional backwater office somewhere.
Times change, progress (as the big corporations call it) takes over and in a world which consumes news, views and data at an ever-increasing rate, digital demand seems to be delivering while paper has become the pauper.
The phrase “content is king” will never be just a passing fad; it’s become the starters, mains and dessert for how people live their lives. It’s consumed in a manner of different ways; from PC, smart-phone, Mac, tablet etc… There’ll always be an avenue for content consumption.
And print is still one of them, no matter which form it takes. Newspapers, magazines, display, advertising etc…
While profit margins for papers may have diminished from their all-powerful grip on news in the 80s and 90s, they have been forced to adapt to their surroundings in a digital age to survive. The majority will have some hard copy somewhere. Newsrooms of the future have sprung up where journalists are now spreading their expertise to meet with demand, all in the name of progress, or so their bosses believe.
While progress may not be applauded by those who relied on print, it remains a powerful force in a marketplace where multi-media has become the go-to medium for news and views. It may have been labelled a pauper in terms of profit but it will always be powerful.
A former journalist, Nick Hyde is PR & Content Manager at Happy Creative a full service marketing and creative agency based in Blackpool, Lancashire.
