The honorable and distinguished profession of journalism in Mexico dates back to colonial times, in the 16th century, with the registration of the first printing press in 1539, by the year 1693 impressions of the Flying Mercury were already circulating, and it was not until 1722 that the first newspaper, the Gazette of Mexico and news from La Nueva España. But what is the future of journalism? How has it evolved with respect to digital? What approach will you take?
The future of journalism does not depend only on the topic or the duration, but the most important thing is transparency, which can only be a reality if there is total respect for freedom of expression and the absolute security of those who exercise it. For this reason, last Tuesday, May 24, the deputies of the LXIV legislature of the Congress of the State of Sinaloa took a step forward, we voted for the Law for the Protection of Journalists and Human Rights Defenders, in full recognition of journalists and news organizations that accurately and objectively inform the general public about events and happenings in our state.
However, journalism is not only at risk as a profession, it is currently going through a great threat, an era in which anyone can publish whatever they want on the internet, even with information that is originally false and seeks to be viralized to influence or impact on public opinion, deviating from the principles of transparency and accountability, which distorts and breaks the confidence of the reader.
Today we suffer false information, manipulation and fraud through the internet. We can’t blame computers or robots, they don’t have feelings or egos, and they don’t care about power. Human beings are responsible for this false information that circulates on social networks or search sites. Trust must be part of the Internet’s DNA. The reader must have full certainty that what he reads is real, that he can verify it, know who wrote it, that there are proofs and protection.
Fortunately, this problem does not arise in those news organizations and professional and certified information sites. The report “Confidence in digital publishing 2021” presented by the organization The Trusted Web, confirms that 46% of readers prefer to pay for transparent journalism, with truthful information, that promotes accountability and that every sender assumes responsibility .
To counteract fake news or false news, content time stamping has been born. Once the content is created, the news source stamps the unique identification number known as a hash (#title-date-write) and the blockchain then publishes an unalterable ledger.
In the end, trust and a good reputation in journalistic activity will be reflected in more readers and higher income, in recognition of professionalism, without forgetting that publishing the truth based on factual information will always have a risk.
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