Don’t Be Fooled, Editors Are Beating The Trolls

Michael Hedges February 1, 2021 - Follow on Twitter

The invisible hands behind journalism are editors. News consumers rarely consider - less understand - the role, it’s generally felt. Big name reporters and, certainly, wild-eyed opinion columnists and show hosts get the attention. Editors, even top editors, are viewed as the nameless crew who correct punctuation or spelling errors. That may be less the case now, suggests new research on the behavior of news consumers.

There is a different, more important, divide among news consumers, said a report from the Norwegian Media Authority (Medietilsynet). Typically, observers of news consumption focus on simple demographic effects: young people are into their mobile phones, old people subscribe to newspapers. In a sense, it’s true.

“The need for information has been enormous,” said Norwegian Media Authority director Mari Velsand, quoted by Nettavisen (January 29). “and the figures show that the editor-controlled media has been a common arena during the (coronavirus) pandemic.” Editor-controlled media, for this report, is as it seems: news outlets at which editors oversee the journalistic process. Social media, controlled by users and trolls, is different.

Crunching data from Kantar and SSB Norsk Media Barometer over 2019 and 2020, the report shows “people flocked to the editor-controlled media during the pandemic year, while social media experienced much less support than expected, also among young people.” The percentage of news users citing social media as “an important source” dropped from 26% to 18% year on year. About 20% of news users under 30 years cited social media as an important source, “far more in this group state editor-controlled media as their most important news sources.”

“Free online newspapers are emerging as the most important source of news updates on socially important news,” said Nettavisen editor Gunnar Stavrum at a press event discussing the report. “Important news reads very well, and it is a myth that there is a difference in quality between free and paid news. It is not the case that those who seek out free online newspapers are not as concerned with socially beneficial journalism as those who seek paid news. What has been most popular and driving in the last year is very good and socially beneficial journalism.”

The journalism world noted this past week (January 26) the departure of well-regarded Washington Post (WaPo) executive editor Marty (Martin) Baron. During his eight-year tenure WaPo emerged from a rather sleepy local newspaper for Washington DC to an international powerhouse employing a thousand reporters and winning 10 Pulitzer Prizes. Prior to WaPo Mr. Baron was editor at the Boston Globe, which earned accolades investigating Catholic priest child molestation scandals, including Pulitzers. The investigation was portrayed in the film Spotlight, actor Liev Schreiber as Mr. Baron, which won Best Picture at the 88th Academy Awards (2016).

First announced as a retirement, Mr. Baron is reportedly moving to the new Washington Mail as editor-in-chief, said the New York Times (January 26). His departure follows Los Angeles Times executive editor Norman Pearlstine in December and leads, widely suspected, New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet. There have been others seeking respite from the last few years of uproar.

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