Will the new New Media finally kill off the MSM?
The legacy mainstream media (MSM) appears to many to be on its deathbed. And while the term ‘New Media’ has been around for some time, could the new New Media, the latest forms of digital and internet-based communication, be about to administer a deathblow to established journalism? Users seem to have an increasing appetite for more direct access, user participation and a renaissance in journalistic inquiry. Longform podcasts, Substack, high-production YouTube channels, shortform video on Instagram and TikTok, and publishers such as The Free Press seem to be in the ascendancy. Is this the moment where the New Media comes of age and takes control of the media space?
New platforms provided the outlet for critical inquiry during the Covid-19 pandemic, while online debates fuelled challenges to Net Zero and transformed arguments about trans rights into wider debates about women’s rights. Stories once ignored can now reach huge audiences. Freed from many established practices and institutional baggage, new contributors bring different perspectives and approaches. Some see this as inherently democratising. Community Notes are engaging millions. Educational programmes make substantial lectures widely available. Innovative investigative reporting, such as the Twitter Files or longform or ‘slow’ journalism, revived by Tortoise Media and others, is enabling more stories to be better told and citizens to be better informed.
But is the New Media really all a picture of health? Critics argue that its ‘can-do’ culture can elevate the loudest voices over genuine expertise and lead to the spread of misinformation. Some point to outlets with a predilection for AI journalism and ask whether slop content would have got past the tough editorial standards once associated with the mainstream press. Others accuse new media of creating their own orthodoxies and echo chambers – whether due to reliance on a limited range of sure-fire stories to attract bigger but narrower audiences or as the outcome of algorithmic growth models engaged in relentless targeting of particular audiences. Is the New Media fuelling a fragmentation of journalism that ultimately represents the death knell of a common societal conversation as everyone heads to their own niche platform?
Amidst concerns about content, there are many questions about how the New Media should be regulated. Ofcom and IPSO, lawfaring via the Communications and Online Safety acts, proposed social media age-gating and renewed calls for Leveson 2 press regulation all raise questions about where legitimate accountability ends and attempts to control the public conversation begin.
Platforms face their own dilemmas over moderation, censorship and conflicting national laws – and some worry that restrictive platforms such as YouTube mean that Big Tech’s content moderators are in control of what we are allowed to see. The New Media also lacks the commercial power and institutional influence of legacy outlets, while precarious business models leave many creators dependent on the ‘cognitive surplus’ of enthusiasts.
What forces are shaping the New Media, and can it become a viable alternative to legacy journalism? How can it develop sustainable business models without reproducing the practices it rejects? Can it gain genuine stature in public life and overturn the old media – or is its greatest value simply keeping established outlets honest? And could a genuinely new media help revitalise public debate and politics?
