Sitemap

Opinion

What’s Wrong With The News?

CorD Recommends

Ivan Vejvoda, political scientist and permanent fellow of the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna

Wake-Up Call for the Judiciary

The protests in Serbia are a profound...

Dr Miloš Vojinović, Institute for Balkan Studies of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts

Time of Great Unease

Despite the differences that define the ongoing...

Feature

Trump’s Crypto Revolution

Trump’s administration has launched an unprecedented overhaul...

Comment

Bridges That Build the Future

By building on existing bilateral ties and...

Neoplanta Celebrates New Life with Generous Gesture

In a touching display of community spirit, Neoplanta, a renowned food company based in Novi Sad, once again marked...

The Hermitage Days are Being Held Again in Belgrade in 2025

The Hermitage Days in Serbia represent a unique international cultural project that will take place from February 19 to...

AgroBelgrade 2025 – A Hub for Innovation and Trade in Agriculture and Horticulture

Over 500 exhibitors will converge at the three-day AgroBelgrade 2025, bringing together the best of Eastern Europe’s fruit, vegetable,...

Europe’s Stark Divide in Land Prices and Rentals

A sharp contrast in land prices across Europe reveals a growing divide in agricultural affordability, with Malta leading the...

Increase In the Number of Transactions in the Austrian M&A market

The Austrian mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market experienced an increase in the number of transactions, but the total value...

The British public can’t get enough news about Brexit – at least, that’s what news platforms’ data analytics say. But, according to the Reuters Institute’s latest Digital News Report, 71% of the British public tries to avoid media coverage of the United Kingdom’s impending departure from the European Union. This disparity, which can be seen in a wide range of areas, raises serious questions about news organizations’ increasingly data-driven approach to reporting.

The rise of data analytics has made journalists and their editors confident that they know what people want. And for good reason: with a large share of news consumed on the Internet, media platforms know exactly which stories readers open, how much they read before getting bored, what they share with their friends and the type of content that entices them to sign up for a subscription.

Such data indicate, for example, that audiences are interested in extraordinary investigative journalism, diet and personal-finance advice, and essays about relationships and family. They prefer stories with a personal angle – say, detailing an affected individual’s fate – rather than reports on ongoing conflicts in the Middle East or city hall coverage. And they are drawn to sensational stories – such as about US President Donald Trump’s scandals and antics – under “clickbait” headlines.

But if newsrooms were really giving audiences what they wanted, it seems unlikely that almost one-third (32%) of respondents in the Digital News Report, the world’s largest ongoing survey of online news consumption, would report that they regularly avoid news altogether. But they did, and that figure is up to three percentage points from two years ago.

The most common explanation for avoiding the news media, given by 58% of those who do, is that following it has a negative effect on their mood. Many respondents also cited a sense of powerlessness.

Moreover, only 16% of participants approve of the tone used in news coverage, while 39% disapprove. Young people, in particular, seem fed up with the negativity bias that has long been regarded as a sure-fire way to attract audiences. For many, that bias feels disempowering. Conversations indicate that the problem is compounded for young parents, who want to believe that the world will be good to their children. Younger generations also feel consuming news should be more entertaining and less of a chore.

One reason for the disconnect between the data and people’s self-reported relationship with the news media may be the “guilty pleasure” effect: people have an appetite for voyeurism, but would prefer not to admit it, sometimes even to themselves. So, even as they click on articles about grisly crimes or celebrity divorces, they may say that they want more “quality news.”

Audiences prefer stories with a personal angle – say, detailing an affected individual’s fate – rather than reports on ongoing conflicts in the Middle East or city hall coverage

When newsrooms indulge readers’ worst impulses, the consequences are far-reaching. Media are integral to support accountability by anyone wielding power or influence and to mobilize civic engagement. Democracies, in particular, depend on voters being well informed about pressing issues. News organizations thus have a responsibility to report on serious topics, from political corruption to climate change, even if they are unpleasant.

That does not mean that readers’ complaints about the media’s negativity bias should be disregarded. On the contrary, if people are to be motivated to confront challenges that are shaping their lives, they should not be made to feel powerless.

This is where so-called solutions journalism comes in. By balancing information about what needs changing with true stories about positive change, news organizations can fulfil their responsibility both to inform and to spur progress. This means occasionally recognizing that over the long term, living standards have improved globally.

Reconnecting with audiences will also require media organizations to broaden their perspectives. In much of the West, it is largely white, male, middle-class journalists who decide what to cover and how. This limits the news media’s ability to represent diverse societies fairly and accurately.

In fact, only 29% of Digital News Report respondents agreed that the topics the news media choose “feel relevant” to them. A joint study by the Reuters Institute and the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, indicates that the key to increasing this share is to increase diversity in newsrooms.

At the same time, news media need to do a better job of contextualizing and otherwise explaining the news. While 62% of Digital News Report respondents feel that media keep them apprised of events, only half believe news outlets are doing enough to help them understand what is happening. At a time when nearly one-third of people think that there is simply too much news being reported, the solution seems clear: do less, better.

This means listening to readers, not just studying the data analytics. It means balancing good news with bad news, and offering clarifying information when needed. It also means representing diverse perspectives. Media organizations that do not make these changes will continue to lose trust and relevance. That is hardly a sound strategy for convincing consumers that their work is worth paying for. 

 

Related Articles

H.E. Raul Bartolomé Molina, Ambassador of Spain to Serbia

Spanish Support Remains

Not playing along with the majority is always difficult in life. Spain’s stance on the Kosovo issue is too well known in the international...

Election year 2020 and reforms – Are we already feeling the impact?

Looming Challenges Require Bolder Political Responses

Although Serbia has for years been living in a state of permanent election campaigning, current developments are adding new steam to political dynamics, thus...

12th Weekend Media Festival

On Peace, Love And Communication

Through discussions about the never more interesting or faster transformation of the media industry and advocacy for freedom of decision-making under the slogan “Peace,...

COMTRADE

Data Provides Benefits

The data management model helps banks turn raw data into opportunities New technology and banking have always gone hand in hand. This is evidenced by...

Žarko Kecić, Chief Technical Officer, RNIDS

Take Care Of Your Online Presence

Having an online presence provides an opportunity for businesses of all sizes and from all over the world to reach out to a broader...

Igor Urošević, Head of Technical Department South-East Europe, Ingram Micro

Our Team Has a Solution for Everything

Ingram Micro d.o.o. Belgrade is part of the Ingram Micro Group - the largest global distributor of IT equipment, whether the criterion is global...

Yoshihiro Nakamats

Japan’s Wackiest Inventor

Japan has a storied history of technical wizardry, but even then Yoshiro Nakamatsu (born 1928) stands out as a cut above the rest. Better...

Dragan Djordjević, Director, Training and HR Agency Skills

Don’t Be Good, Be Great!

At Skills, the first training and HR agency in Serbia, we believe that investing in people, their education and skills, is a key component...