OPINION: The truth still matters

National Newspaper Week was celebrated last week (Oct. 4 to 10), so perhaps it is worth asking a simple question: what happens to a community when people no longer know where to turn for reliable information?

For generations, small communities have relied on local newspapers to tell their stories. We have been there for council meetings, school concerts, community celebrations, business openings, tragedies, fundraisers and the accomplishments of our neighbours.

We report the difficult stories because they need to be told. We also celebrate the good things happening around us. 

That is the role of a community newspaper. We do more than report what happened. At our best, we help a community understand what is happening.

Most of us were taught some fairly simple lessons growing up: Don’t believe everything you hear. Get the whole story. Consider both sides.

We understood that gossip was often missing important details. We knew that acting on incomplete information could hurt someone, damage a friendship or unfairly harm a person’s reputation.

Somewhere in our rush to have information immediately, those lessons have become easier to forget.

Today, we can find an answer to almost any question within seconds. Artificial intelligence can generate information almost instantly. Social media can deliver thousands of posts and stories before many of us have finished our morning coffee. But fast does not necessarily mean factual. And popular does not necessarily mean true.

There is a growing problem with websites and social media accounts that resemble news outlets but are designed primarily to generate clicks. Headlines are crafted to provoke anger, fear or outrage. Stories are copied, recycled, stripped of context or presented without adequate verification.

Increasingly, some content is also produced or distributed by automated systems and bots. Their purpose is not necessarily to inform a community or contribute to a healthy public conversation.

The purpose is the click.

And we keep giving it to them.

Every time we engage with sensationalized misinformation, we create an incentive for more of it. We reward those willing to sacrifice accuracy for attention, while making it more difficult for legitimate journalism to compete.

That should concern all of us.

Professional journalism carries a responsibility that extends well beyond getting someone to open a story. Journalists are expected to ask questions, verify information, seek comment from those involved, provide context and correct mistakes when they occur.

Sometimes the story is uncomfortable. Sometimes it is heartbreaking. Sometimes it challenges what we want to believe. The responsibility, however, remains the same: report it honestly.

Local journalism carries another responsibility that algorithms cannot easily replicate: knowing the community. 

We understand that behind every name in a story is a person. We know that a school announcement matters to parents. A council decision matters to taxpayers. A local business matters to its employees. A community fundraiser matters to someone who needs help.

We also understand that our communities are not defined solely by their problems.

There is tremendous good happening in small communities every day. Volunteers give their time. Young people accomplish remarkable things. Neighbours help neighbours. Businesses invest locally. People quietly make a difference without ever expecting recognition.

Those stories matter, too – even when they do not generate as many clicks. There is certainly a place for artificial intelligence and new technology. These tools can help journalists work more efficiently and give readers new ways to access information. But we should never confuse a tool capable of producing information with journalism that is accountable for the information it publishes.

A free and independent press is not a luxury. It is an essential part of a healthy community.

So, let us celebrate more than newspapers. Let us celebrate the value of asking questions, checking facts, seeking context, hearing the whole story and giving people the information they need to make their own decisions.

Because in a world increasingly measured in clicks, views and shares, there is still something more important. 

The truth still counts.

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Nicole Fawcett is the publisher and owner of the Strait Area Reporter and the Pictou Advocate in Nova Scotia.