We are living in an era where the boundary between a traditional newspaper and a personal account with countless followers is becoming increasingly thin. The question of the position of journalism in the digital age is no longer something distant, but has become a concern that lingers in the hearts of every professional.
Challenges for modern journalism
In the era of TikTok, YouTube and Facebook becoming news sources for millions of people, a question being asked by many journalists is where will the press stand when the public increasingly trusts individuals more than media organizations? That is the topic discussed at the Newsrewired conference on May 14, 2026, where journalists, media experts and content creators discussed the changes that are shaking the press industry.
Ukrainian journalist Valeriia Voshchevska believes that the boundary between journalism, social activities and content creation is becoming increasingly blurred. She herself used to be a social media editor for Newsweek.
According to Voshchevska, when the conflict in Ukraine broke out, she noticed information gaps that traditional newspapers could not fill, forcing her to turn to new forms of storytelling on digital platforms.
This reality reflects a larger trend taking place globally. In many recent crises, from Ukraine, Gaza to Iran, the public often seeks information from individuals present at the scene before going to press agencies. This creates opportunities for content creators to become important sources of information. But on the other hand, it also entails the risk of information being simplified, emotionalized, or even distorted in exchange for views and interaction.
According to research by the Reuters Institute, many content creators are willing to publicly express their personal views on political, social issues or international conflicts. Meanwhile, traditional journalism still has to carefully consider the principles of neutrality, verification and social responsibility. The question is whether the journalistic values of the past are still relevant in the modern media environment.
Journalist and researcher Alessandro Accorsi believes that the concept of "objectivity" in journalism has long been controversial. According to him, the problem is not always having to present two opposing perspectives with equal proportions. More importantly, journalism must be based on evidence and verified facts. "If all evidence is pointing in one direction, journalism needs to clarify that," he said.
Living on the internet
If in the past, the press was almost monopolistic in producing and distributing information, today, that position has changed. Social networks have become places to detect trends, form public opinion, and reflect the very rapid movements of social life. This is a reality that the press cannot ignore. Also because of this, many major newspapers have chosen to live together, participate in social networks to take advantage of strengths, and at the same time spread the values that mainstream journalism brings to more readers.
Many major topics of journalism today originate from issues discovered on social networks. Many investigative articles are opened from people's reflections on Facebook, groups or public forums. This shows that social networks are not only rivals, but also an important source of social data for journalistic activities.
Mr. Ha Van Thuong, one of the people in charge of social network development of Lao Dong Newspaper, shared: "Reality shows that today's public mostly no longer accesses journalism in the traditional way. They read news on their phones, watch short videos, listen to podcasts, and follow information through many different platforms". If journalism only maintains the old way of doing things, the advantage of prestige is also difficult to transform into real attraction. Therefore, Lao Dong Newspaper has deployed a series of social networking sites on major platforms, especially Facebook, to spread more strongly the information and values of journalism.
Participating in social networks helps Lao Dong Newspaper promote its own strengths on platforms when many news are expressed in short videos, analysis articles are converted into visual graphics or in-depth content is told in a more accessible language. Taking advantage of the existing advantages of social networks, journalism will no longer just be a website, but is becoming a multi-platform content ecosystem.
However, when participating in social networks, the press also faces many difficulties in the "information race". Besides the ability to spread information quickly and strongly, social networks have hidden algorithms. Mr. Thuong said that social network algorithms will change frequently and users, if they want to make good use of the advantages of social networks, need to understand them clearly.
Therefore, what needs to be done to be effective on social networks is not to chase algorithms, but to take advantage of algorithms to spread accurate information. It is not to copy the way digital platforms do it, but to promote the unique strengths of journalism on those platforms.
The future of media is not that journalism replaces social networks, or social networks replace journalism. A clearer trend is synergy. Social networks help information spread faster, journalism helps information become more reliable. And in a world increasingly filled with data but lacking in truth, that credibility will continue to be the foundation for creating the position and long-term vitality of mainstream journalism.
