The way information reaches the public has changed. What once was only distributed through radio, television, newspapers and magazines, now can be shared with just a click in cellphones. Although this allowed for greater democratization of knowledge and let people from all over the world connect with each other, in some professions the need to evolve came with hard work. A good example is political journalism.
THE NEW OBSTACLES THAT POLITICAL JOURNALISTS FACE
With the information being distributed to — and by — everyone, political journalists had to deal with polarized ideas, fake news, lack of credibility and figure out a way to avoid losing the public. And besides that, for the past years, journalists from the entire world had to challenge themselves and leave the newspapers and magazines and migrate to Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Since according to Pew Research Center in 2024, more than 50% of Americans under 30 say they get most of their political news from social media platforms, especially those named above.
Anyone can publicise information, but the truly trustworthy sources are the journalists, who really dig for true facts, have sources and make a detailed fact-checking. The numbers stated by the Statista Consumer Insights, from 2024, show that only 14% of Brazilians do not trust the traditional media, which means that Brazil is among the countries with moderate distrust. Even though it is a satisfactory percentage, it is concerning this relationship between the population and their main source of information. With these struggles, to not lose the audience to any influencer or blogger the journalists had aligned their content with the needs of the public, thus digital journalism has been created.
Therefore, in the last couple of years, YouTube has become a major ally for political journalists. During an interview with Fernanda Tavares, the Assistant Political Editor of CNN Brazil, she concluded that “those who didn’t adapt to the internet got left behind and probably lost their job”.
Fernanda pointed out that political news used to be distributed to society by weekly magazines, and now it is mainly by videos on YouTube that people get informed about politics. And with that, the professionals have to be faster, since the news has to get almost instantly to the public.
“Before we had much more time to investigate, so more and more we are being obligated to work with more responsibility and fast”
– Fernanda Tavares
The battle against time is real and with international politics changing constantly, political journalists found themselves dealing with responsibilities even bigger. In an interview to Her Campus at Cásper Líbero, Fernanda also specified that it has never been demanded so much agility and care with information of a journalist as now.
The amount of fake news is increasing and the main bridge between the public and the facts are the journalists, so their credibility and fact-ascertainment needs to be perfect. Especially in an environment where, according to an article published in Misinformation Review, consuming fake news makes people believe less in mainstream media and more in just political institutions. Which results in taking all the audience and credibility away from the main journalism vehicles.
THE BATTLE AGAINST INFLUENCERS
To Fernanda, influencers are not replacing traditional journalism, because they occupy their own space of entertainment and utility. Especially as people look to content creators for specific topics and, usually, those who are genuinely interested in politics will not seek information from them.
However, they can disturb the journalism’s work. Still, the journalist made sure to emphasize that: “I believe they should use the power of their communication to induce, impact and make a content — even about politics — positively”. So, a productive alliance can be made only if influencers avoid spreading false information or showing the side they personally support, for example.
Besides battling against them to make content, journalists have another battle with influencers: the audience’s attention. In a world where people are more interested in consuming humour and entertainment content, political journalists, like Tavares, not only have to fight against fake news. They also have to try to attract the eyes of the audience in social media.
Between all the different contents, the political one also needs to have some strategies to catch the attention of people, such as more dynamic videos, with interactions, music, and colours. The journalist expressed that people are more into lifestyle content:
“We have a way of knowing which articles are the most read in this week. And in the week of Bolsonaro’s trials only two articles about it were in the Top10, and one of the most read was about the Tv “Show My 600-lb Life.”
Fernanda also informed that in the places that she worked they have tried it all to make the youth audience more attracted to political posts, “more teaching contents, with arts and interactives” but nothing works, and maybe – to her – it’s just about the phase in life.
But the fight to make the audience elevate and stand out among other posts never ends: “I think we can compete the same way we have been doing, with an accurate investigation… because I think the insistence will take us to a good path”.
It’s hard to catch people’s eyes with so many options of entertainment in social media, but, as she said, a good journalism providing the right information will lead to a successful path.
DEALING WITH POLARIZED IDEAS
Politics have never been more polarized as it is now. Trump against Biden. Lula against Bolsonaro. Putin against Zelensky. In highly polarized environments, the lack of confidence highlights the need for political journalists to be accurate, agile and transparent.
According to an article published by EuroNews in 2023, a survey made by the Assises du Journalisme de Tours – annual gathering of press professionals – asked about the quality and impartiality of journalism in Europe and 70% of the interviewers that think that the quality of information that journalists give have deteriorated, believe that the main reason is that “they are too biased.”
So how can journalists do their jobs without polarizing society’s ideas even more?
As emphasized by Fernanda during the interview, political journalists should cover both sides fairly. For her it is really delicate to report on the government without bringing the opposition or not engaging with a centrist politic. If professionals present all sides and opinions to the public, it’s easier for people to understand what is really happening, based on the whole picture, rather than just what circulates within their own “bubble”.
This approach may open the minds of those who only believe in information that support their views while dismissing the ones that do not align with their opinions. Therefore, political journalists maintaining neutrality is the first step toward a less polarized society.
But polarization doesn’t come only from biased reporting — it is also amplified by the way information is distributed. Social media algorithms are made to keep users engaged, often by reinforcing their existing views and pushing more of the same ideas that they search for. Meaning that, almost never shows different beliefs, ideas or posts that are divergent from what the user is used to looking at.
In this context, some media vehicles are taking active steps to counteract misinformation and to be unbiased. For example BBC has now a BBC’s Reality Check which is a unit made only for fact-checking that aims to provide verified, contextual information without favoring political sides. These initiatives focus on rebuilding public trust by prioritizing transparency and accuracy – values that are essential for journalism to function in polarized societies.
POLITICS IS EVERYWHERE
According to a research made by the National Confederation of Transport (CNT), a Brazilian research institute, in 2020, most of the population of Brazil had a moderate level of interest in politics. The majority of the interviewers showed little to no interest in it. Reflecting that disinterest, only 79% of Brazilians voted in the 2022 elections despite Brazil mandatory electoral participation. These numbers are concerning and highlight the need to understand the importance of politics.
Politics affects everyone’s lives more than it is often imagined. “Politcs affect the simple act to go to the supermarket, a ride on the bus and the subway, even involves the weather forecast”, said Fernanda Tavares. When a society cares about its rights, democracy and public policies, the country can be more mature and better prepared to evolve.
When a society is politicized the country tends to move faster and grow more than others. A clear example of that is the Covid-19 pandemic. Countries where the population was more politically informed, engaged and accepted the disease were able to come back to their normal functions faster than others, such as Canada and New Zealand. In contrast, countries like Brazil and the United States, with lower political engagement and with lack of trust in institutions, were the ones that suffered from misinformation, political leaders denying the seriousness of the pandemic, fake medicines being suggested as the cure, resulting in the highest number of deaths.
It is common to not find some topics interesting or easy to understand, but it is society’s job to at least know what is happening around us when talking about politics. Especially, given the fact that it changes our daily habits. A Netflix series named The G Word with Adam Conover could be a good starter for beginners who are willing to learn some concepts that involve it.
The series teaches some of the factors that are affected by politics, such as how meteorologists fly in planes through typhoons to alert the community of disasters and how they measure the winds, showing how affects directly the weather forecast that Fernanda mentioned before, Barack Obama – the ex former president of The United States – also makes an appearance. It is interesting, easy going and humorous, an approach that can make this subject lighter and more understandable for so many.
But it is important to remember that being politicized does not necessarily mean being polarized. The CNN journalist quoted “It is good to balance both sides, the person who consumes information in a wider way, has a broader judgment and stronger alignment. This person can make her own opinion”. If more politicized and involved in democracy the population gets, there are less chances for authoritarian leaders to be in any politician role.
Being politically engaged is a matter of civic duty – it is a crucial factor in a country’s ability to overcome crises, like the pandemic in 2020, and be better for its societies.
“When we have a society more mature with its rights, with democracy, with its duties, we have a society that has less polarization”.
The sooner that people realize the importance of politics and how it is everywhere, the sooner the world will have democracies that truly work.
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The article above was edited by Maria Alice Primo.
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