Of all the difficulties confronting contemporary media, the trust deficit is the one for which solutions seem most elusive. There are many reasons why the public has disengaged from the news, but bias and commercialism have been found to play a significant role, while in last year’s Digital News Report from the Reuters Institute, transparency, high journalistic standards, and fairness were the most-cited reasons. If objectivity is a dead horse, perhaps transparency will provide the authenticity that the public craves. But transparency about what? Is authenticity what really matters, or is independence more critical? And what do we do when transparency and fairness conflict? As Jussi Latvala asks in another Reuters Institute report, ‘Is it one thing to say transparency is important when it’s presented at you as an option by a pollster, and another thing to actually put value on that as you live your daily life and encounter news?’
This week’s newsletter comes at these questions from several angles. Derek considers the implications of the sale of Southern Cross Austereo’s television network to Australian Digital Holdings – operator of right-wing YouTube channel Newsmax. With the demise of cross-media ownership rules, what does the merger mean for local content, and for the impartiality required of broadcast news?
Tamara turns her eye to the UK, where the government has proposed a copyright exemption for AI training. Transparency over data sources won’t give much relief to creatives, or the news industry, who are incensed. Transparency and authenticity are both big on social media, and Chris examines whether politicians turning to platforms like YouTube really signals a drop in journalistic scrutiny. While I look at last week’s AI-related kerfuffle at the LA Times, where a new bias-o-meter produced more controversy than transparency.
Finally, Alexia has an invite to a special event next week, Securing the Sustainability of News and Journalism in Australia, featuring Julie Eisenberg, Lenore Taylor, Professor Allan Fels and George Siolis, which ties into the latest episode of our podcast, Double Take and joint IIC/CMT report.
Michael Davis, CMT Research Fellow