BY: ROEYNA MAY FAMISARAN
BABY Boomers and Generation X may be reading newspapers, watching the daily television broadcasts, or listening to the local radio; traditional media vehicles are still their way to go. But millennials are obviously changing the game when it comes to news consumption. This generation clearly wants their news just within their fingertips.
Millennials grew alongside the advancement of technology, making them the greatest influencers of it. Millennials get what they want from technology. Advertisers and content creators chase them. Thus, media companies got into the pool and ventured into the digital world to cater to this generation. CNN, BBC, The New York Times, and a whole lot of them are on Facebook and Twitter.
Art John Agapito, 25, who describes himself as a “voracious news reader,” says he reads news through social media like Facebook and Twitter due to their accessibility.
“I read 80 percent of the news that appear on my timeline,” he shared.
The community manager, who is based in Los Baños, Laguna, also noted that his news reading habit started around five years ago when “agencies revolutionized the way we consume news through digital media.”
Like Agapito, Philippine Science High School – Southern Mindanao Campus Special Science teacher Ena Marie Dizon said she reads news from social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
“Social media is the easiest and fastest way for me to get info resources. In a demanding academic institution where everything happens in fast pace, I have to cope with the current trends immediately,” the 25-year-old said.
As a teacher, she said it is vital for her to update her students on current events. “We are required to inculcate current events in our lectures. I always feel obliged to share the latest news, information and even innovative teaching strategies to this generation of learners.”
The same is true with another millennial, 23-year-old Stephanie Joy Velasco. Velasco reads news mainly online.
“I do not want to be ignorant of the things that are happening around me especially here in the Philippines,” the accounts management specialist of a prestigious real estate developer said. “Social media is the most accessible especially Facebook and Twitter.”
TOP TOPICS
Contrary to popular belief – and despite being tagged as the “me, me, me generation” – millennials update themselves of the latest news on various topics. A lot of people have said millennials are ignorant and are all about posting everything on the internet. But these three millennials said their generation is more than just their Instagram feed and creative hashtags.
As millennials, they said they are interested in various topics but politics is their top choice. They read news on politics and governance first before reading articles on other issues.
“It’s the most critical topic. Politics and governance affect us all,” Velasco, who is based in Iloilo City, said.
Agapito, meanwhile, cited an example: the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law. “It [TRAIN Law] affects everyone. From drivers to farmers to private employees and even manufacturers. It cascades through everybody. And as a citizen, you need to aware of its effects.”
Velasco furthermore noted that the news should focus on the most important things and must avoid sensationalism.
“Nowadays, news agencies opt to sensationalize news rather than write the whole story with just facts and no biases. Truth should always be important,” she said.
Dizon agreed, saying: “Makers of information should focus on critical issues and societal problems that involve everyone.”
“Since social media is participatory, a user should be a watchdog against the spread of fake news. It should give more focus on beneficial knowledge-sharing, promoting online welfare, generating more legitimate online jobs, and promoting stories for change,” she added.
TRADITIONAL VS DIGITAL
Even though millennials consume news through social media, they still agree that traditional media should never be discredited. They may prefer the digital, but they will always respect the traditional.
Agapito, for his part, said he prefers digital media because of its accessibility and convenience. He also emphasized that digital media can do a faster delivery of information.
“A news story that happened a while ago can be disseminated minutes after it occurred,” Agapito explained. “Traditional media have longer turnaround time for this. Edits or corrections on the stories can be done in real time.”
However, Agapito and Dizon both noticed that there is already a blurred line between traditional media and digital media as the former is already adapting to new media.
“News on TV can be watched on the internet. Newspaper agencies now have their own websites. Radio programs now have video elements on their Facebook pages,” Agapito said.
But as for the three, this has to be mentioned: Traditional media should not be discredited as they laid the foundations of journalism.
“Everything might be digitally available now but the principles of news gathering, writing, and delivery have not changed,” Agapito added.
‘JOURNALISM IS EVER EVOLVING’
Just like technology, the three millennials believe that journalism will still evolve.
“Journalism is an ever-evolving industry. With the introduction of new technology, it will continue to change and change,” Agapito said.
However, Dizon said the journalism industry should watch out for misleading content. “The journalism industry will continue to face the threat of misleading news information because of too much competition and consumer issues.”
But they all agree that the journalism industry – with its hope to spread truth and empower the informed – will thrive whatever change in the world may happen./PN
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This article was first published in print on April 6, 2018.
