Change is life. Our world is constantly evolving; we are always rushing to keep up with it. Every industry strives to adapt and not be tossed away. Just two decades ago, journalism was physical newspapers being sold on the streets. Today it is considered 40 second short videos, freelance online blogs, YouTube video analysis. It is a rarity for people to receive important information first through traditional news outlets. But if the basis of journalism is that it is something you can always rely on being credible, that expectation becomes harder to uphold, especially in 2026. Which leads to the essential question, is journalism today even journalism?
Modern journalism has shifted away from traditional news sources, and while this increases accessibility, it ultimately weakens the reliability of information. Journalism is the truth, it’s something for the people. Revolutions, reforms, laws, whole countries have been formed because of it. So how did something so powerful get the reputation of a hoodwink now?
The early signs of journalism drifting from it’s orgins is “Yellow Journalism” in the 1890’s. Yellow Journalism was a style of newspaper reporting that emphasized sensationalism over facts. Ironically, it was Pulitzer himself who created the style. Of course, it wasn’t as farfetched as it is today, but essentially what started click driven revenue. Yellow Journalism prioritized profits over integrity and substance.
Much of this impact was also accredited due to the invention of cable television. With the early days of broadcasting television, there were only a select few channels causing most programs to not take extreme stances due to having to appease a large audience. Cable television finally allowed news outlets to exploit niche audiences.
Since journalism has shifted to click-driven revenue, this has fundamentally changed what is valued in news production. Instead of depth or local relevance, outlets are incentivized to chase engagement, while digital platforms such as Google, Youtube, TikTok, Facebook etc. capture much of the advertising revenue tied to those clicks. This has left local news organizations financially unstable, as they would survive on advertisements. Medill’s School of Journalism Local News Initiative’s 2025 report states 130 local news organizations in the country closed in 2024, and 136 in 2025. This is a two-fold loss as fewer newsrooms are able to hire journalists, causing more journalists to leave the field.
The argument that journalism today is powerful more than ever because digital platforms allow information to spread instantly, while may be technically correct, however speed does not equal truth. Credibility has disappeared; today it’s common for people to be skeptical of the news 90% of the time. The problem is not that journalism has evolved necessarily, but that integrity was sacrificed for engagement. If people no longer trust the news, journalism loses the very thing that one made it powerful.
The future of journalism depends on whether society is willing to value truth more than virality. If not, the public loses one of the most powerful tools democracy has ever had.
