The way in which we consume news and media content is rapidly changing; according to their latest research, the Reuters Institute found that “audiences say they pay more attention to celebrities, influencers, and social media personalities than journalists in networks like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat.”
We spoke to Mary Mandefield, a radio host for BBC Radio London and 1Xtra and freelance journalist with The News Movement, about the challenges conventional news may face when venturing on social media.
TikTok: may the most viral content win
The king of short-form content is, of course, TikTok, which is having a ripple effect on the way in which we consume media on other platforms, such as Instagram (with Reels) and YouTube Shorts. It’s not just dance trends and lip-syncing though; for many young people, it’s their go-to for reviews, recommendations and news. News is, for the first time, existing and competing in the same space. Mary commented:
“TikTok is a place where people are being delivered news all the time, but they might not be aware that it is news – it’s so different from the traditional sense of seeing it on TV or printed in the newspaper but it’s obviously a very quick and easy way to get a story across.
“It’s an amazing tool to get something out there really quickly and break up a story into lots of smaller parts. If you’re sitting down and watching the news on TV they have to break that story down into a package and they’ve got a limited timeframe on it but when it’s tiktok it can be broken down into part 1, 2 and 3 and you can update the story in real-time as well.”
It’s easier than ever to create and output content through platforms such as TikTok and Instagram now, which has raised concerns around reliability and accuracy – there is noticeable tension between professional journalists and creators who haven’t had the same training and experience in telling news.
When asked how we should tackle this, Mary said:
“A lot of it is up to the platform themselves and having really thorough and reliable ways to flag things that are misinformation or just not true – a lot of It is also up to peer-to-peer communication.
“If I was watching something and thought ‘oh I don’t think that’s right or I don’t think that’s reliable’, there should be a really quick way to show that – obviously comments can get buried, reporting seems too extreme and might not change anything. Ultimately there should be ways to flag this and everyone who uploads any content to the internet has a personal responsibility to tell the truth and tell it without bias unless it’s very obvious that it’s an opinionated piece.”
News should be reported impartially, and Mary finds this an important distinction when creating news content compared to radio: “On radio I might be able to be really opinionated but if I’m reporting on a news piece, I have to put my opinions to the side. Making It clear to the viewer ‘this is what I think’ compared to ‘this is what the truth is’.”
With content-creator and influencer culture, there is a strong desire for virality and with that, the idea that virality is a measure of success. Mary strongly believes that authentic, genuine and accurate content should take precedence over this, especially when it comes to news reporting:
“I definitely think you’re rewarded for being outlandish and having strong polarising opinions on things – if that’s going to boost your videos, boost your platform and give you an opportunity to make more money, then I can totally understand why people do it.
“Sometimes it’s not about cutting through the noise. I’m not interested in reaching as many people as possible, but more in the people it does reach – are they taking it in, are they going to do something with that information?
“Anyone can go viral, but to actually have a positive impact is a lot harder.
“A million people could watch a video and it could mean nothing as they might have consumed a hundred other videos that day. It places no importance on the content – there’s so much out there that the numbers are irrelevant. Of course, if you’re working for a business they want to see growth, they want to see engagement and numbers. For me personally, I’ve found peace with not being that bothered.”
One version to rule them all?
As well as the noticeable difference between journalists and content creators outputting sensationalist or inaccurate news stories out on the platforms, there is also a tension between native app users and creators or people who understand the type of content that works well on that app, versus creators or companies who are shoe-horning their content into such apps as they feel they need to, or are trying too hard to market their content at Gen Z or make assumptions about what they want.
“I’d say this is the first generation that everyone wants a piece of – when I was in my early teens on social media that was our safe space and we didn’t have adults infiltrating and taking over it and trying to make it work for them.
“[Social media] was made by us for us and that’s why it worked so well.
“Now these platforms have a huge user base, and you have older generations trying to make stuff that they think they’ll like; it’s not organic and sometimes it really misses the mark.
“This happens in radio a lot too, where people will put on a voice because that’s how they think radio presenters sound.
“TikTok is such an informal platform – someone could be in the car or chatting away in their room and then you have people talking like they’re reading the 10pm News.
“People who are less in that new-sy world can tell the story better on that platform.”
Gen Z doesn’t just listen to Gen Z
Does Gen Z only want to see young or new content creators? That’s not what Mary thinks. As a Millennial, she does not necessarily change her approach for younger audiences:
“This is a conversation that’s always coming up in TV – ‘We need younger presenters, we need Gen Z people’; but actually, Gen Z loves David Attenborough or Louis Theroux.
“If you know a presenter or a personality, you’re probably just happy to see more of them.
“Many people that make content on these platforms don’t really spend much time with Gen Z or young people in general. You can have adult conversations and they don’t just want to talk about TikTok or activism, there are so many nuances within that generation and age group.
“I do find it condescending when people are being boxed into their age bracket.
The key to making great content can’t just rely on understanding your audience, it also means understanding your platform:
“Certain platforms do reward you for doing things in a certain style.
“Because platforms are all offering short content videos, people are going to try and capitalise on what they’ve already made instead of making different versions. And it may not perform well.
“People who are successful do just focus on one or two platforms and do it well; that might be one or two videos on Youtube and shorter videos on TikTok.
“They will get to know that platform and what their followers want.
“When you spread yourself too thin, then it’s just not fun anymore.”
‘You have a lot of responsibility in your hands’
Mary didn’t take the traditional route into journalism. She didn’t go to university and instead spent the first part of her twenties travelling, and worked with organisations like Oxfam, Greenpeace and Comic Relief. She is currently producing a newsletter aimed at younger people looking to enter the media industry.
“So many people were asking me for advice individually and I wanted to put it all into one place,” she said.
She also has a section that adds news prompts for other content creators, and encourages them to collaborate: “It gets the most engagement and positive feedback,” Mary shared.
Her biggest tip for people wanting to create news content for younger audiences is to go for it, but also to be responsible and train yourself.
“I would say you have a lot of responsibility in your hands.”
Although she admits you don’t need to go to university or do an apprenticeship, she agrees that learning the industry standards is essential.
“If you want to just make content online without training to be a journalist, spend time researching, spend time figuring out how to get reliable sources.
Mary also encourages content creators to be transparent, share where they got the information for their video from, and be thorough.
“Due diligence will take you more time but it should mean that you can grow a group of people and a community who really trust you.
“I’d say don’t take it lightly, journalism and storytelling have an impact on people’s lives, so you want to make sure that you’re doing it properly.”
Additional reporting by Camille Dupont
Image courtesy of Mary Mandefield
