OPINION - Editorial

A dangerous game

Media outlets navigate minefield future

The future is uncertain for all of us. (Que sera, sera.) Technology is changing the way Americans spend money and where we get our information. Newspapers, television and radio stations are having to adapt to survive, as always, and as they attempt to grab eyeballs, some ethical questions pop up.

As more consumers get their news online, sites like Facebook and Google take an increasing role in deciding who sees what and when. In the early days of Facebook, there was a simple understanding: Facebook needed the local news and content from news outlets, and the news outlets needed eyeballs for their websites. It was what the biologists call a symbiotic relationship.

But as Facebook moves to tighten control on its content, and not just its content, some news organizations are finding they don't reach as many eyeballs with their stories--unless they pay to advertise them. In technical terms, it's called organic reach vs. paid reach. The organic part being people who see posts without ad dollars being used to promote those posts. And paid reach being, well, paid.

Every time Facebook changes its algorithms, news outlets typically see their organic reach drop. And your small-town community newspaper covering a town of 5,000 people may not have money to sink into paid posts. So its posts don't get seen, people don't visit its site, and the locals lose ad revenue.

Facebook can change the rules any time it wants because we're all using its toys. And in just about every case for a news organization, Facebook is the No. 1 driver of traffic to its website. (The social media giant has already been accused of stifling conservative outlets and boosting liberal ones, but the evidence is mostly anecdotal.)

The ethical implications for this are many, but the biggest risk may be news outfits tempted to tailor content to what social media outlets want, as opposed to important stories readers may need. Is the city council considering a new sales tax to fund a convention center? B-o-o-oring. Facebook knows viewers really want that racially charged story about an African American boy being forced to cut his hair by the school nurse. Or the anonymous source who told a website that the president is in trouble. Or maybe give us a headline about a Kardashian.

That'll gin up comments, likes and controversy. After a while, a desperate news outlet might be tempted to yank the local government beat and replace those stories with a weird news beat, and ask reporters to write about zany stories or something that'll give us some controversial headlines.

Facebook and Google used to be free tools that news organizations could rely on to boost Web traffic. But as these companies figured out how to use news outlets, that dynamic changed.

What are the alternatives for making up lost revenue? The papers say Canada is looking at a $600 million tax package to boost local news coverage. Doesn't that sound good? Perhaps in theory. A rural newspaper covering a town of 8,000 in Manitoba with dropping subscriptions can get a chunk of that tax money to pay a couple of reporters--and continue reporting the news that the locals need.

But that plan comes with its own problems. It trades cozying up to Facebook for cozying up to the federal government. And a watchdog can't be a lapdog.

We don't have all the answers when it comes to navigating the future of technology and changing revenue. Newspapers and all other news providers are figuring it out as we go along. One thing that's certain, though, is this newspaper appreciates your particular eyeballs, Gentle Reader. Every other outlet is going to have to make its own ethical decisions. As for ours, we refer you to page 2A, where you'll see our core values every day. On the record. NB: See the last paragraph.

Readers first. So we will continue to provide the news you want and need, not tabloid headlines that social media demands. ("Is your dog psychic?")

Onward with journalism! Whether the change is the new-fangled radio, this TV gadget or the latest from the Internet, some things never change.

Editorial on 01/24/2019

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