I don’t claim to be a mediocre journalist or even a good writer for that matter, but I do believe that I have a decent idea of what journalism should entail in today’s society. Journalism is meant to inform. Journalism is meant to challenge individuals’ ideas. Journalism should be substantive by having nuance, depth and context. This is in complete contradiction with widely-known publishers such as BuzzFeed and countless other forms of media that exist on the internet today.
These independent forms of media are desperate for attention. They feed off of page views, and clickbait is the perfect solution. BuzzFeed excels at this by taking a familiar topic that everyone knows about, adding in a few recycled jokes or gifs and turning it around as a flashy headline or Snapchat story. It’s the equivalent of retweeting a hysterical tweet and getting the satisfaction of another individual choosing to favorite your retweet, proving that someone else thinks it’s as funny as you do. It’s known as infotainment (information fused with entertainment). But, the way the content is designed significantly damages the “info” of the practice.
Most of BuzzFeed’s content is unoriginal and lacking any type of legitimate substance. While quizzes that determine which type of doughnut you are might be fun, it’s ultimately a product of a website lacking in credibility. I wouldn’t have a problem with this at all if BuzzFeed didn’t exude the slightest inclination that they are credible, but that isn’t the case.
According to a Gawker report, BuzzFeed purged nearly 5,000 stories from its website in 2014, removing them completing from its record. Typically, when a journalist or news agencies have to retract just one story, their credibility is damaged to a large degree. BuzzFeed reportedly did this almost 5,000 times.
Later, the website claimed that this was due to “advertiser pressure.” This pressure was the result of BuzzFeed using native advertising — a tactic where an outside company pays BuzzFeed to use their product or service in a subliminal message hidden in an article. Not only does BuzzFeed sell itself to outside interest groups, they proved that BuzzFeed is willing to purge itself of credibility when those interest groups feel as if they haven’t gotten their money’s worth.
Taking a look at the actual headlines on BuzzFeed’s main news page doesn’t do much to establish legitimacy either. Of all possibility ways to cover the deadly attack on the 15th anniversary, BuzzFeed decided on a list called “22 of the Most Powerful 9/11 Monuments Around the World” with one-line descriptions of each monument. If the headline sells the story, BuzzFeed makes money. If the headline sells the story, the companies that BuzzFeed has sold out to makes money.
We feed into this garbage. Most people agree that they despise clickbait, but they continue to click on the articles, such as an article that I encountered last week titled “Dear Men, Please Stop Wearing Cargo Shorts.” The article essentially implied that males would be better people and more suitable for attracting a significant other if they stopped wearing cargo shorts. The article not only lacked substance, but it was genuinely vile in all regards.
I wouldn’t have a problem with articles like this existing if that’s all BuzzFeed was generating. If BuzzFeed accepted their role as lacking any type of credential and established their brand as one that lives for flashy headlines and clickbait-infused stories. The problem lies in the fact that BuzzFeed tries to maintain credibility and tell whatever they establish as newsworthy through their endless stream of clickbait and mediocre reporting.
BuzzFeed is having an identity crisis. The news articles aren’t genuine journalism and the barrage of other assets, such as quizzes and hyperbole-filled lists, are too invested in fulfilling advertising pressure to be creative and above mediocrity. The same can be said about The Odyssey, which is prominent around campuses across the nation, giving all students an outlet to share their writing so that only their friends and family will appreciate it.
Journalism needs articles that can hit issues and inform a society to institute change. It doesn’t need articles about “How I Met Your Mother” characters (most likely paid for CBS) or puppies. Those are incredibly entertaining, but they shouldn’t be even implied to qualify as journalism. I encourage all people to use media outlets to express themselves, but I urge them rather to use them in such a way that instigates education and has the potential to fabricate change in the part of society that they attempt to reach. Journalism does this. BuzzFeed does not.
