The challenges of professional journalism of the 21st century

Network journalism, delegitimization and disinformation

Abstract

Starting from the 19th century, informative journalism established itself in modern society as a fundamental democratic agent, providing topics for public debate, overseeing institutions – the fourth estate – and defending citizens. In this symbiosis between journalistic practice and democracy, journalism professionalized itself, established a credibility pact with society, and came to be perceived as an expert system by acquiring centrality in the production and distribution of information based on a specialized method of work based on technique and ethics that came to differentiate the profession from all other forms of communication. The prominence and hegemony of the press and, subsequently, mass media as drivers of the public forum of democratic nations remained inseparable throughout the 20th century. With the evolution of the internet and digital technologies, especially in the 21st century, the role of professional journalism as a
protagonist in the production and distribution of news enters into crisis; the authority and credibility of the press are questioned at the moment it loses exclusivity in the production and dissemination of information on a large scale, and in parallel, digital populism and hyper-media campaigns have the automated distribution of false information and the delegitimization of professional journalism in their communication tactics. In this sense, this article presents a reflection on the effects of the contemporary communication ecosystem on the centrality and credibility of professional journalism and demonstrates how the fragility of the credibility pact between society and professional journalism is a present strategy in contemporary political communication marked by digital populism and hyper-mediatization of campaigns.