A Reconnaissance on the Future of Journalism

A quick show of hands in a teaching hall at Lund University shows that most students have consumed media before the start of the lecture. Not so long ago, students would probably have read a newspaper, listened to the radio, or watched television news — but now few have done just that. Instead, most people have gone onto Snapchat, Instagram and Tiktok. With this major change as a starting point, Ola Isaksson and Andreas Mattsson, university professors in journalism, give their views on how journalists of the future can act to remain relevant.

But what is journalism?

- Journalism is about collecting information and presenting this information to a target audience. The material should be in the public interest. Journalism can help people feel updated about what is happening so that they are informed and able to make decisions,” says Ola Isaksson in a recording from the lecture.

Society is changing rapidly and new technologies are bringing new channels of information and new behaviors in all of us who consume media. Therefore, it is not enough for journalists to produce good material — because it is also important to find the right channel to reach the target audience. So how should journalists do to adapt to this? Here are some guiding points that Ola Isaksson and Andreas Mattsson see as important:

* Nowadays, many news stories are presented and published more or less automatically, so that to some extent the public already knows what has happened. For a journalist, it is therefore good to increase the focus on analysing, not just reporting.

* As more and more news is delivered digitally, it is also easier for the channel in question to analyze the audience and thus create a content that fits.

* Through AI and other technological solutions, it will be easier for journalists to find, control and analyze data. The data available on government agencies is a huge resource.

* In order to present the material so that consumers can relate to the news, it is important for journalists to narrate, explain and create insights based on what is going on. Meeting people and doing interviews about how they are affected is still a great way to engage.

* In a world with a large flow of information, it is especially important for journalists to be credible and meaningful.

- When it comes to news production, data from different authorities is available and continues to be, says Andreas Mattsson. This is a huge resource in the community to find new news, new angles and new material that can be deepened and reviewed. It is therefore important that journalists develop new collaborations, also with new professional groups, such as researchers and experts who can help us and the audience understand data that can be somewhat difficult to understand,” says Andreas Mattsson.

Ola Isaksson and Andreas Mattsson from Degree Programme in Journalism at Lund University delivered a lecture on journalism on 6 March 2024 in Lux aula at Lund University. Link to the recording: Humanist and Theologian Day 2024: What does the future of journalism look like? | UR Play)

Journalism is an important part of Future by Lund and Lund University's work in the portfolio “Realising human rights” where we explore opportunities to develop new types of leadership and ways of organising ourselves to defend and strengthen human rights and freedom of expression. Future by Lund's current portfolios can be found here.