Actor George Clooney’s recent adaptation of his 2005 film, “Good Night, and Good Luck,” to Broadway spotlighted the role of journalism at its best. It also reignited the handwringing over the state of the industry.
Simply put, journalists are an increasingly endangered species. Enrollments at communications schools across the country have been decreasing for years, largely due to fewer and fewer students choosing to major in journalism. This is more than a threat to the Fourth Estate. It is a threat to democracy itself.
There are many ways to reverse the trend, but two stand out. The first is to shore up the financial fortunes of news organizations. The second is to supply more journalists.
The first is tough. But there are bright spots.
Take the recent announcement by Stagwell, a leading marketing network with more than 70 agency partners in its arsenal. The company has launched the Stagwell News Network, a private marketplace designed to give Stagwell clients unique access to major news publishers ranging from Newsweek and Nexstar to The Associated Press and TIME.
Stagwell, which says the new network is part of its “Future of News” initiative designed to support trusted journalism, says its research shows that the 80.4 million U.S. adults who follow the news “very closely” view brands more positively than less engaged audiences across seven key brand and reputation metrics, including purchase intent, favorability, likelihood to recommend and trustworthiness. The company says its goal is to increase its clients’ advertising spend in news media by 22% in 2025 as compared to the prior year. This commitment is both important and timely.
The second is tougher. More than 3,200 newspapers have closed since “Good Night, and Good Luck” hit the silver screen. Clooney’s hair was not yet silver then. Now that it is, surveys show that public trust in mainstream media is at 31% — a historic low. Who would consider majoring in something where there are fewer jobs than ever and people trust you less than ever?
Yet it turns out there are more than a few who still want to sign up. Elon University’s School of Communications hosted 18 of them this summer as part of its Emerging Journalists Program. The program is highly immersive, offering aspiring high school journalists an experiential look at newsrooms and television studios, and by the end of the program the students have produced actual news content.
There is no cost to the students, many of whom come from economically challenged backgrounds, and many of them end up enrolling in college communications programs. In total, 170 students applied to the program during this past academic year — the most in its four-year run.
Elon’s ability to support the Emerging Journalists Program was made possible by a 2021 grant from the Scripps Howard Fund that has now run its course. Unfortunately, without another grant, it’s uncertain whether the program will be able to continue.
Universities cannot fight this good fight alone. They need help. Unless they intend to pass along the cost to students, too many of whom cannot afford it, they need funding.
Fewer local media outlets mean the public receives less civic information, thus affecting voter turnout. Less media coverage leads directly to an increase in bureaucratic corruption. Fewer objective news sources give further rise to biased media, thus deepening the societal divide.
Lack of journalistic freedom gives easier rise to authoritarian regimes. At a time when we trust journalists less than ever before, we need them more than ever before, whether or not we realize it.
It should never be time to say “good night” to journalism in a democratic society. The industry needs some good luck. And a lot more than that.
Kenn Gaither is dean of the School of Communications at Elon University in Elon, N.C. Email him at tgaither@elon.edu.
