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Series Wrap-Up: Overcoming Limitations

  • Writer: Kelly Hendrick
    Kelly Hendrick
  • Jul 6, 2024
  • 4 min read

This blog series has centered on the intersection of technology, media, and culture, and the posts have discussed benefits and limitations. Pointing out limitations isn’t always enough, however; it’s preemptively admitting defeat. So what comes next? Here are some ways to overcome some of the limitations of these topics.

 



Native Advertising: The biggest limitation of native ads is the authenticity factor. While these ads may be responsible for much-needed revenue, they can also be an easy way for an audience to lose trust. If one of your readers feels tricked, they might not be your reader for much longer. This is why disclosures are important. The content is meant to blend into its surroundings naturally, but it also needs to be advertised as such, and clear disclosures prevent a sense of distrust. Journalists are supposed to be independent and expected to report the truth, so if the audience believes journalists are under commercial influence, boundaries will erode and communicators will lose credibility (Krouwer et al., 2020). Clear disclosures (“Paid for by XYZ”) go a long way compared to vague ones ("Partner Content"). Be clear and authentic.




AI: Many of us work in industries where we’re told not to worry about AI. “It’s not taking your job—it can’t—it’s just here to make your job easier.” Or a similar version. But AI is here, and it’s not likely going anywhere. The limitation of AI is, essentially, our distrust of it. The solution is to accept that it’s here and it is changing our jobs, even if it isn’t replacing them. Historically, machines have replaced manual work; computers have replaced people. The integration of AI is the newest Big Thing, so it’s time to find our place in the new landscape. There are ethical implications AI can’t foresee and fake news AI can’t untangle (Fridman, 2023). Embrace the inevitability of the next shift, remember that the world still needs teachers and doctors and mechanics and journalists, and discover where you now belong.




Personal Branding on Social Media: Yes, there is a heavy lift when it comes to developing a personal brand across social media platforms, but changing the perception of the process is a good way to get started. Communicators create self-imposed limitations when they view personal branding as simply “bragging” or creating a false representation of themselves, but viewing it as just a new component to traditional journalism can be a helpful way to jump that hurdle. Now that the internet is fully integrated into journalism, communicators are at their desks more, which means they lose an important connection with their community (Jerónimo, 2022). An online presence is the new way to contact sources, create a dialogue with their audience, and even find new stories. Reframe the idea of personal branding.




Streaming Documentaries: Documentaries spread like wildfire on social media, and the “documentary” Plandemic epitomizes their limitations. Information-heavy documentaries hold more credibility than a polarizing radio personality, so an audience may be more likely to trust them. Plandemic targeted public authority personnel, government policies, and life-saving vaccines, encouraging distrust of scientific institutions, which then created a twofold danger: the infection itself and the spread of intentionally dangerous information (Lee, 2023). The "documentary" featured a former research scientist, since discredited, which portrayed a scientific validity. Biases, conflicts of interest, and sensationalism are all dangers of documentary films, but there are some tools to help guide ethical storytelling. Apply an even more rigorous oversight than traditional journalism.  




Podcasts: Perhaps the biggest limitation of podcasts is the medium’s oversaturation. Finding a voice—and an audience—is increasingly difficult now that it seems like everyone everywhere has started one. One of the biggest strategies is, simply, persistence. People give up when they stop having material to discuss, when their ideas run out, or when they don’t want to put the work in to tweak what isn’t working. Real estate might feel tight, but it is opening all the time, even though it might not feel like it. Persistence is key not only to finding an audience but also to finding the tone. If one idea doesn’t click, tinker until another does. One podcaster uses an analogy of a sandwich shop: people with resources can build a sandwich shop, but no one is going to come back if you don’t make good sandwiches (Campbell, 2024). Trying to make a “sandwich” everyone likes isn’t possible, so make the one you like and find your audience that way. Be passionate about what you’re creating, and then be persistent.




Mobile Dependency: Our dependency on mobile technology has many dangerous implications, but perhaps the most limiting feature of phones and tablets is the choice (and the algorithms perpetuating those choices) to get news from wherever we want it, how often we want it. These choices lead to echo chambers, and these echo chambers have given audiences a skewed perception of reality and just how popular their beliefs are. In a recent murder trial, viewers on both sides were convinced of the defendant’s guilt or innocence, and everyone just knew how the verdict would turn out—but both sides were wrong. A mistrial was declared, and everyone was surprised. Many of these people only followed X accounts or Facebook pages that agreed with them, but many of the journalists in the courtroom gave impartial recaps of testimony or transcriptions with no commentary. Be the account that everyone follows because they want to know what’s actually happening, even if it means reading what they don’t want to hear.

 

 Good luck!



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