Traditional journalism in the age of fakery
Amid the uncontrollable surge of information online and the growing influence of social media, I heard it buzzing around: print is dying. Hashtags are the new headlines.
Is this project a fool’s errand?
The mockery from doomsayers gave me nagging self-doubts 10 years ago. But then my generation couldn’t have gone extinct entirely. I decided I’d give it a shot anyway—even just to satisfy my curiosity and test the market.
So in October 2016, we launched the maiden issue of the Pacific Island Times, with Louella Losinio, Gerry Partido and Jan Furukawa on Guam, in collaboration with Palau’s Pacific Note led by Kambes Kesolei and Bernadette Carreon. We don't have a fat bank account; we don't investors backing our operations; we're only equipped with the conviction that there was room for independent journalism, free of corporate control and political influence.
The Pacific Island Times/Pacific Note team is composed of veteran journalists whose goal is to fill gaps in regional reporting, bridge the distance between the islands and understand who we are. We seek to give voice to our Pacific neighbors through long-form journalism, thorough research, opinions and news analysis. Our freelance journalists and columnists from Guam, the CNMI, the U.S. and the Pacific island region don’t disappoint.
We have since established our brand and grown our readership despite the challenges facing any startup business. We’ve survived the Covid-19 pandemic, which left economic carcasses in its brutal wake.
Our advertising revenues and donations we receive are reinvested in building our print and online content. We sincerely appreciate our supporters.
We are marking our 10th year. If you are reading the print edition, you are sifting through the paper because Gutenberg’s legacy endures. The printing press is still running. Marians Variety, the region's longest running newspaper, prints our paper.
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But traditional journalism has come under unprecedented attack from generative AI technologies, the growing monsters that have pushed the resurgence of “fake news” rhetoric to a dystopian level. The evolution of deepfake technology has diluted public trust. It’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s fake.
Traditional journalism is no longer the sole gatekeepers of information. Competition within the industry has been replaced by a united effort to protect the imperiled ecosystem of credible discourse.
Unfortunately, contrived narratives that distort the truth outpace credible reporting. Orwell's precient "1984" has come to life.
AI-generated images and video clips create alternate realities. Regulation has failed to keep pace with rapidly exploding technology that recreates itself, leaving the human race vulnerable to malicious actors and exposed to sensationalized misinformation.
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This is why I think traditional journalism matters more than ever; it’s the reliable light that shines in the dark. We subscribe to ethical standards. We uphold our moral and legal responsibilities to substantiate the information we report. We hold ourselves accountable. Credibility is our currency, despite shrinking advertising revenues that threaten our continued existence.
The Pacific Island Times, a member of the Pacific Island News Association, has built relationships with regional media outlets that seek to preserve free press and responsible reporting.
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Common business sense requires us to critically examine our chances of further success and what we may be up against. We keep up with the times. Our online content is free to access. We believe truth shouldn't have a price tag.
Selling ads has not been easy, what with digital competition. But my indefatigable partner Jan Furukawa, our sales and marketing executive, has been managing to surmount the challenges.
We are poigntantly warned that the world as we knew it is slipping out of existence, but our endurance is a testament to people's preference for responsible reporting.
Some speculate about a sudden resurgence of print triggered by people’s need to occasionally delink and shut off from the noise of the online world. “The more digital our lives become, the more we are looking for balance—and the more we’re rediscovering the tactile and tangible benefits of print,” blogger Louella Fernandez writes.
The print readers still take pleasure in the texture of crisp paper and the smell of ink, a reminder that the stories are real, not a fleeting hashtag or a mere digital simulation of reality.
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