How Local News Can Claim Its Rightful Role In 2020
One of the more relevant discussions at last month’s NewsCheck Forum was around how local broadcast TV newsrooms can continue to play a significant role during the 2020 elections, especially given the rise of digital media outlets.
Panelists from Hearst, Microsoft, Scripps and the Associated Press discussed the one huge advantage local broadcasters have over national news outlets, as well as digital and social platforms — they actually know the local audience and can use that to their advantage.
“We know our audiences and what’s important to them,” noted Scripps’ Senior Director News Strategy, Cameryn Beck. “We need to focus on that rather than getting sidetracked by polls and other commentary that may not be relevant to our local audiences.”
The conversation then veered towards how to retain the trust that audiences feel for their local broadcast news teams. “There's a perception that the media is out to get candidates — that's an incorrect perception,” Hearst’s Senior Vice President, News, Barb Maushard stated. “You need to get the facts, but that doesn't mean 'taking them down’.” We can help to create a more respectful relationship by letting people from the community set the agenda and by asking the questions they want the answers to.”
Combatting Fake News
Another problem facing local news teams is the rapid spread of fake news over the internet. Panelists spoke to the notion that there is a distinction between fake news that is due to someone not getting their facts straight, and fake news that is the result of an intentional and malicious misrepresentation of facts.
The former is more likely caused by sloppy reporting, by a race to get the news out first rather than verifying its veracity, while the latter is an attempt to divide and to sway emotions. The line between the two can be murky — one of the assumptions of kompromat-style manipulation is that fake news stories will be spread by people who don’t realize they are fake. That’s why Maushard said she always tells her news teams that “first is desired, right is required” — meaning that while it’s nice to be able to break a news story, it’s far more important that the facts being reported are accurate.
But how are consumers feeling about the battle against fake news? Interestingly enough, a nationwide consumer survey produced by Videa found that some 61% of the 1,145 U.S. consumers surveyed said they have “some” or “a lot of” trust in the information they get from local news organizations.
Using AI to Detect Fake News
Microsoft’s Technologist & Story Telling, Jamie Burgess discussed how his company and others were starting to look into ways to use AI to flag fake news being spread on digital media. It’s a project that’s very much in its nascent stages, as the fear is that the systems can be tricked into flagging true stories as fake.
That said, there’s much hope that AI can help identify stories that need further verification or that can’t be tracked back to a creditable source. That can help local news organizations who must rely on the firehose of information coming over the internet and whose resources are often taxed by having to sort through and verify it all.
2020 Is All About Politics
One thing the panelists all agreed upon is that the stakes would be very high for local broadcast news next year. Viewers will be counting on them to be their primary source of information about state and local races and to provide a forum for issues that are of importance to local audiences. That’s a big ask, but local broadcasters appear to be ready for it and ready to resume their role as a key outlet for political advertising. As political ad spending promises to reach record numbers this year, this will be a very good year for local broadcasters.