Over the years, journalism has changed so much that new journalism jobs were put into place. Thanks to the internet, there is more news being spread online than ever before. Newspaper companies have continued to generate their daily papers but use social media as an opportunity to reach a larger audience. Some individuals have even taken it upon themselves to self-report news online, but that leaves people wondering if the information can be trusted. Journalism is constantly changing but let’s look at the most significant ways it has changed over the past 25 years.
Social media
Twitter has become one of the most popular social media sites for journalists to run and share a story. Many of the stories cover just about every topic unless it is from a local newspaper that much rather share intimate information in their daily paper. There is news on every social media about these topics from music, politics, business, and sports. Many news outlets typically have their accounts, but many journalists have taken it upon themselves to create personal accounts to get their following.
Fact-Checking
With social media allowing anyone to post just about anything, fact-checking has come a long way. When it comes to politics, many politicians can lie or go back on their word, but the majority of social media sites are trying to set the record straight. Fake news has spread around false rumors that can hurt or ruin the careers of anyone who was involved. Snopes and USA Today are two fact-checking websites that make it a mission to call out false news and rumors. More recently, people have been hesitant to post incorrect information online as readers are fast to call them out report their profiles.
Donations
Journalists who have gained a significant online presence and following usually work independently, meaning they aren’t getting paid under a newspaper or network. The only source of income they can depend on is from their followers and readers. Normally news outlets will get a lot of their money from advertisements and sponsorships, but it is challenging to get those slots as an independent. Outlets such as YouTube pay their users after they hit a certain amount of views and followers, but not many sites offer that. Don’t be surprised if you come across a journalist asking for personal donations to their cash app accounts.