Social media platforms and technology companies are having a greater effect on American journalism than the shift from print to digital, according to a MacArthur-supported report by the Tow Center For Digital Journalism. The report charts the convergence between journalism and platform companies, and examines the rapid takeover of traditional publishers’ roles by companies including Facebook, Snapchat, Google, and Twitter. While platforms are helping newsrooms reach larger audiences than ever before, the loss of branding, lack of audience data, and migration of advertising revenue remain key concerns for publishers. The report also calls for greater transparency and accountability by platform companies about how they sort and target content, and argues that the nuances of journalism require human editorial judgment instead of relying solely on algorithms.
