Face it: The definition of “news media” has changed. Who gets to define themselves as “reporter” has changed. Even the very definition of “news organization” has changed. If you didn’t know that before the Democratic National Convention, you should now. In case you weren’t paying attention to what was going on behind the scenes in Chicago, the DNC handed out press credentials to about 200 influencers, bloggers, vloggers, and others fitting the loose definition of “creator.”
This didn’t necessarily go over well with reporters from traditional news organizations, who endured indignities like sharing air with mostly young people of whom they’ve never heard, being kept from the floor of the convention due to overcrowding, that sort of thing.
Much hand wringing ensued, but the bottom line was that the DNC embraced “creators” in larger numbers than before (the Republicans accredited “creators” in Milwaukee, but it was less than half the DNC contingent, maybe about 70). And the creators were able to get interviews with the big names, post reports from the floor, and generally do anything a traditional reporter would do.
There aren’t any reliable numbers for how many people got their DNC news through social media posts and YouTube videos, but it has to be a large audience, especially among young people, who aren’t as likely to watch CNN, Fox, MSNBC, or C-SPAN for their coverage, or read the New York Times and Washington Post for their analysis or listen to talk radio for opinion. They rely on a different set of reporters and pundits. The political parties are only now recognizing that while you can’t yet skip the mandatory interviews and appearances with the networks and major newspapers, you now have to reach a sizable portion of the voting public through alternate means, which is where the 200 creators have become indispensable.
This doesn’t come without peril. A lot of the creators – maybe all of them – are not exactly nonpartisan in their reporting. The DNC did credential some conservative personalities, but most were liberal, and when a partisan, especially one without years of news experience, interviews a politician on the same side of things, you’re not gonna get controversy or challenging questions.
But is that a whole lot different from traditional media? Bias may be in the eye of the beholder, but traditional mainstream American news media has its own biases; they just don’t admit it or advertise it. It’s very unlike the rest of the world, where the newspapers are known for their political lean and there are state-run TV and radio networks. The U.S. media have always portrayed themselves as, pardon the expression, “fair and balanced” while at times not being either of those. At least most American talk radio has no pretension of being anything other than conservative (the word “right” is in some stations’ slogans), but even the “both sides” approach of the major newspapers is a political position today.
So, is adding influencers to the definition of “news media” a bad thing? They may not be operating with consideration of traditional news ethics; Can we be certain that they won’t spread falsehoods or slanted stories to their loyal audiences? No, but you have to take the good with the Alex Joneses… er, bad. Whether or not you like it, it doesn’t matter. Whole generations have come of age for whom ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, the Times and Post, and talk radio aren’t relevant, but hosts on YouTube or TikTok or podcasts are. If you’re a mainstream news reporter, you might consider whether you can translate what you do and bring your current audience to other platforms. It’s not impossible, and it could prolong your career.
If you want to catch fish, you have to go where the fish are. The fish have moved.
Perry Michael Simon is a weekly news media columnist for Barrett Media. He previously served as VP and Editor/News-Talk-Sports/Podcast for AllAccess.com. Prior to joining the industry trade publication, Perry spent years in radio working as a Program Director and Operations Manager for KLSX and KLYY in Los Angeles and New Jersey 101.5 in Trenton. He can be found on X (formerly Twitter) @PMSimon.
