Over time, media has evolved around the evolution of technology itself. After the arrival of things like the internet, tablets, and smartphones, media has been forever marked and attached to them. This situation, in turn, has also affected the credibility media creates among society since, in many cases, people who have a good telephone, who are in the right place at the right time believe themselves journalists. But no, a good journalist should make sure of the veracity of what they are reporting on and, above all, investigate.
Without a doubt, these changes have exerted pressure among those of us who have dedicated our lives to the practice of journalism. This is in tandem with traditional burdens we have to deal with, such as precarious wages and lack of benefits, both created in part by the economic crisis that was already dragging on most of the media and which is aggravated by the pandemic and the emergence of "pirate media". All of this has generated not only a competition that can be described as fierce, but even the loss of space is reflected, especially in terms of number of available correspondents.
According to Perla Oropeza, who has worked as an editor in important media such as the Mexican State News Agency (Notimex) and El Financiero, where she took charge of the Bajío edition, there is a lot of pressure that is exerted today on the reporter. "There is brutal competition between those of us who are dedicated to journalism. Media has multiplied and it is difficult to keep up, because there are those who live off anything and the quality of the information has been sacrificed."
She explains that part of this pressure is generated by the existence of social networks. With platforms such as Facebook or Twitter, among others, so readily available that they allow direct coverage and immediacy in the information, many are taking advantage of others by "stealing” their information. Many outlets are simply uploading what is trending on social media to their portals without the need of investing on specialized coverage.
“The reporter comes out under pressure because there is someone who has already broadcasted the interview live. It is a disadvantage for those who had to go to the scene, because they invested time and money in going there. This has generated a great impact on the sector, it has even generated the loss of jobs”, she declared.
As for Manuel Vázquez, a teacher in Social and Political Communication, who has worked as a correspondent for El Norte, as well as for Pulso and Televisa San Luis, with the advent of the internet journalism underwent many changes, mainly due to the immediacy demanded by public consumption of news stories.
"That immediacy that is required on internet pages causes that, sometimes, the information is not accurate and, sometimes, even false, because it is not corroborated as it should. In addition, the way of doing journalism with a telephone and networks has changed the medium, since anyone can take a photo or make a transmission from anywhere at any time."
Without a doubt, practicing journalism today is not easy, since we are going through a revolution where standards are changing, where issues, such as violence against those who make up the union cannot be ignored. According to Article 19, at least 135 journalists have been assassinated in Mexico, between the year 2000 and today. However, our objectives are always the same: to inform society in a truthful way.
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