Once a place for sharing facts, media today are torn between three major dynamics: the imperatives of profitability, the race for attention and the emergence of new ways of consuming information. These combined forces are overturning the traditional role of journalism and reshaping the boundaries of the public sphere. So how can we continue to provide clear, rigorous and useful information in such a changing landscape?
Profitability at the heart of the media upheaval
The media, once the regulators of collective debate, are undergoing an economic and identity crisis. The collapse of advertising revenues, free online information, the rise of digital platforms and dependence on immediate performance indicators have shaken their foundations. Clicks have become a condition of survival.
Profitability, which used to take a back seat, now drives the choices we make about formats, frequencies, angles, and resources. The balance between journalistic rigour and market logic is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. This pressure gives rise to more subtle, but very real drifts. We are witnessing a rise in media populism, epitomized by the proliferation of “experts.” Their presence, supposed to lend credibility to the analysis, often drifts towards an opinion that is more personal than well founded.
The media environment favours the rapid adoption of a position, sometimes a clear-cut one, to the detriment of nuance. This dynamic serves a dual purpose: to fill the schedules of 24-hour channels and to offer engaging, divisive content that is easy to share. Even in the written press, where opinion pages have always existed, the line between analysis, information, and entertainment is becoming increasingly blurred.
The only thing that could still save journalism, really, are those reporters capable of breaking new ground: investigative journalists who verify, contextualize, and restore the democratic function of the profession. It is essential to give them more space, resources, and recognition.
It would also be appropriate to consider the fate of journalism in action. As opinion-formats take over, reporting is on the decline, due to a lack of resources and audience. Readers are increasingly relying on columns and editorials, to the detriment of the rigorous information that would help them to form an informed opinion.
The race for attention: inform without boring
In this context, capturing attention becomes an imperative. Inform, yes, but not bore. Simplify, demystify, and sometimes dramatize. Infotainment (a mix of information and entertainment) is emerging as a response to the demands of immediacy.
It is transforming editorial choices: catchy headlines, short formats, viral content. Sometimes the line between journalism and promotional content is blurred, undermining public confidence. News becomes a competitive product, battling with influencers, content creators and algorithmic platforms.
This raises fundamental issues. Doesn't turning information into a spectacle reflect the commodification of our collective attention? Or should we see it as an adaptation to new habits, driven by TikTok, podcasts, and short formats? The landscape has changed, that's a fact. And with it, the methods of engagement.
Content that is more accessible, but more fragmented
Media transformations are also changing the way we consume information. It's becoming part of our daily routine—while we're walking, cooking, between messages—and is often consumed whilst we're doing other things.
Podcasts are a good example of this. Its flexible format adapts to the pace of our lives. It allows us to access a wide variety of content, anywhere, at any time. But this flexibility is transforming the way we relate to information: listening becomes fragmented, attention diluted, partial memory.
Social networks, short videos, newsletters, and personalized content follow the same logic: greater accessibility, but also greater dispersion. Information becomes a fragmented, algorithmic flow, gradually losing its common ground. This change raises an essential question: how can we maintain a culture of shared information in a context where everyone consumes in their own way?
Rethinking our collective approach to information
Faced with so much upheaval, it would be tempting to blame the media. But that would be a simplistic view. They are trying, often with limited resources, to remain relevant in an ever-changing world. The real question is one of balance: how to inform responsibly in such an unstable context?
There are a few things we should be looking at together:
- Clarify the distinctions between news, analysis, and opinion. For example, by creating visible and understandable guidelines.
- Encourage columnists to rely on more solid sources.
- Give journalists a greater role in analytical segments: those who investigate and verify should be involved in putting the facts into perspective.
- Consider a summit on media transformation, bringing together the media, researchers, citizens, and institutions.
- And why not create a public journalism school, or introduce a certificate or accreditation?
The current media transformation is neither wholly voluntary nor wholly deliberate. It reflects a world that is being redefined. And if we want information to remain a common good, we need to rethink the foundations of our collective listening.
