Machines Like Us

How Do You Report the News in a Post-Truth World?


Listen Later

If you’re having a conversation about the state of journalism, it’s bound to get a little depressing. 

Since 2008, more than 250 local news outlets have closed down in Canada. The U.S. has lost a third of the newspapers they had in 2005. But this is about more than a failing business model. Only 31 percent of Americans say they trust the media. In Canada, that number is a little bit better – but only a little. 

The problem is not just that people are losing their faith in journalism. It’s that they’re starting to place their trust in other, often more dubious sources of information: TikTok influencers, Elon Musk’s X feed, and The Joe Rogan Experience

The impact of this shift can be seen almost everywhere you look. 15 percent of Americans believe climate change is a hoax. 30 percent believe the 2020 election was stolen. 10 percent believe the earth is flat. 

A lot of this can be blamed on social media, which crippled journalism's business model and led to a flourishing of false information online. But not all of it. People like Jay Rosen have long argued that journalists themselves are at least partly responsible for the post-truth moment we now find ourselves in. 

Rosen is a professor of journalism at NYU who’s been studying, critiquing, and really shaping, the press for nearly 40 years. He joined me a couple of weeks ago at the Attention conference in Montreal to explain how we got to this place – and where we might go from here. 

A note: we recorded this interview before the Canadian election was called, so we don’t touch on it here. But over the course of the next month, the integrity of our information ecosystem will face an inordinate amount of stress, and conversations like this one will be more important than ever. 
 

Mentioned:
"Digital News Report Canada 2024 Data: An Overview," by Colette Brin, Sébastien Charlton, Rémi Palisser, Florence Marquis 

"America’s News Influencers,"  by Galen Stocking, Luxuan Wang, Michael Lipka, Katerina Eva Matsa,Regina Widjaya,Emily Tomasik andJacob Liedke

Further Reading: 

"Challenges of Journalist Verification in the Digital Age on Society: A Thematic Review," Melinda Baharom, Akmar Hayati Ahmad Ghazali, Abdul Muati, Zamri Ahmad

"Making Newsworthy News: The Integral Role of Creativity and Verification in the Human Information Behavior that Drives News Story Creation," Marisela Gutierrez Lopez, Stephann Makri, Andrew MacFarlane, Colin Porlezza, Glenda Cooper, Sondess Missaoui

"The Trump Administration and the Media (2020)," by Leonard Downie Jr. for the Committee to Protect Journalists.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Machines Like UsBy The Globe and Mail

  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5

4.5

11 ratings


More shows like Machines Like Us

View all
Ideas by CBC

Ideas

353 Listeners

The Current by CBC

The Current

235 Listeners

The Sunday Magazine by CBC

The Sunday Magazine

75 Listeners

The House by CBC

The House

88 Listeners

Day 6 by CBC

Day 6

53 Listeners

CANADALAND by CANADALAND

CANADALAND

214 Listeners

Colour Code by The Globe and Mail

Colour Code

13 Listeners

The Risk Takers by The Globe and Mail

The Risk Takers

5 Listeners

At Issue by CBC

At Issue

126 Listeners

The Big Story by Frequency Podcast Network

The Big Story

111 Listeners

I'll Go Now by The Globe and Mail

I'll Go Now

2 Listeners

Looking Ahead by The Globe and Mail

Looking Ahead

1 Listeners

Industry Interrupted by The Globe and Mail

Industry Interrupted

3 Listeners

Front Burner by CBC

Front Burner

458 Listeners

Cost of Living by CBC

Cost of Living

36 Listeners

The Dose by CBC

The Dose

89 Listeners

This Matters by Toronto Star

This Matters

22 Listeners

Stress Test by The Globe and Mail

Stress Test

16 Listeners

The Globe and Mail U.S. Election Dialogues by The Globe and Mail

The Globe and Mail U.S. Election Dialogues

0 Listeners

Restoring Confidence by The Globe and Mail

Restoring Confidence

0 Listeners

The Decibel by The Globe and Mail

The Decibel

137 Listeners

City Space by The Globe and Mail

City Space

16 Listeners

It's Political with Althia Raj by Toronto Star

It's Political with Althia Raj

24 Listeners

Ahead Of The Game by The Globe and Mail

Ahead Of The Game

4 Listeners

Better For It by The Globe and Mail

Better For It

0 Listeners

In Her Defence: 50th Street by The Globe and Mail

In Her Defence: 50th Street

287 Listeners

Lately by The Globe and Mail

Lately

4 Listeners

Behind the Advice by The Globe and Mail

Behind the Advice

0 Listeners

Happy Enough by The Globe and Mail

Happy Enough

17 Listeners