1. At a time in history when journalism had more platforms than ever to shine, it has given up on doing its job properly. Not everyone, of course. But it has, on a massive scale, failed to inform the public according to the law of diminishing interest. It was the most effective way for the reader to learn as much as possible about a fact in the shortest amount of time. This is how we were taught in journalism schools since the time of Tobias Peucer, author of the first doctoral thesis on the subject. Of novel relationships, in 1690. Since time immemorial, the first paragraph of the news item had to contain the essential information. Between the headline and the lead The 6 Ws had to be answered, which stood for who, what, where, when, how, and why. With a single glance, the reader already knew what they were talking about. Then came the details, the filler, the additional information to provide context.
2. The moment the press stopped explaining events chronologically, readers took less time to know who had won a war or a soccer match. It was no longer necessary to wait to read the entire 90-minute report to find out the result. The inverted pyramid writing technique reorganized the news and structured information to make our lives easier. Journalism prioritized what needed to be known immediately. Well, suddenly, swept away by runaway digitalization, we are witnessing the funeral of the inverted pyramid. Today, a handful of digital titles no longer use headlines to ensure you understand the information immediately, but instead, they offer riddles to get you to take the bait and try to find the answer.
3. "Which Junts deputy did Gabriel Rufián call a 'rat'?" And you click, and you have to swallow a pile of irrelevant information, context, or fluff, about the Congress of Deputies and the proposed law to evict squatters in 48 hours to get to know what could be learned from a headline: Rufián calls Josep Maria Cruset a rat. Is Calía the riddle, to take the bait? Another example: "Barça already knows its quarterfinal opponent." And before you know it, the news tells you that the draw was held in Nyon, tells you who played the innocent hand, reminds us of Barça's brilliant run in the first round of the Champions League, also reminds us of the double round of 16 match against Benfica, and then reveals that Barça had been drawn with a team. Finally, when we can't take it anymore, it reveals the name of Dortmund. Thanks, but you can go fuck yourself.
4. Once again, as in the past, many media outlets hide the most important part of the news until the very end. It's a strategy that rewards the editor who hides the egg the longest. Digital newspapers—the new ones, the unscrupulous ones; but also many traditional titles—seek to keep each reader engaged with a story for as long as possible. This is the goal. Informing is no longer the priority. Now, in the massive world of click-bait, what counts is that the largest number of people come to view the content and stay there as long as possible. The more minutes they scroll down the screen, the better, because between paragraphs they can place an ad. This is the idea. This is the key to the business of many media outlets today, which, instead of doing things properly, decide to give up on journalism. But so much fake news, so much sterile reading to the point of despair, is also the shortcut to social stupidity. This is the shortest path to the trivialization of our world and a sure invitation to a progressive loss of critical thinking.
