Algorithms are the new gatekeepers of information. The news industry needs to get its act together |
The fuss that arguably the UK's biggest podcaster and star entrepreneur has allowed guests on his show to make wild claims related to sensitive health subjects got sharp tongues wagging.
Many argue, rightfully so, that with great influence, comes great responsibility. If you have people's eyes and ears, you will start influencing the subconscious of even the most discerning consumers.
But the Steven Bartlett debate and his shift from business oriented content into health topics (amid alleged harmful misinformation, which his team defended) — a pivot which almost doubled his audience in the past year — is a symptom of a much wider problem with media and the platforms distributing content while capturing most of the value.
Remember the podcast election frenzy in the US? Well, this is Bartlett’s own Joe Rogan moment, where sensationalism trumps substance, and the quest for audience overshadows a perceived duty to inform responsibly.
This is really the big difference between journalism and content.
Speaking on a recent episode of my show, the Millennial Masters podcast, Lexie Kirkconnell-Kawana, CEO of IMPRESS, the UK's independent press regulator, told me about the consequences of this shift.
"We're........