Trusting the algorithm or trusting the press

Every day we make hundreds of decisions that seem personal to us, what we read, what we watch, what we listen to, what we buy or where we travel. Some of these choices, however, come preceded by an automatic recommendation produced by algorithms that organize content, select what appears first and determine, often without us being aware of it, which options come to be part of our horizon.

Digital tools can facilitate access to information and help us find content of interest. The question is what happens when recommendations become the main filter through which we discover the world. Personalization systems tend to show us what aligns with our habits. Thus, what we find familiar gains presence, while other voices and perspectives may be left out of our field of view.

In this scenario, editorial judgment is more necessary than ever, as a quality magazine or newspaper does not limit itself to accumulating content or reproducing what is already circulating. Behind every issue and every edition, there are professionals who decide what is relevant, verify sources, contextualize facts, prioritize topics, and assume the responsibility of explaining why a piece of information deserves the reader's attention.

The press reports on current events, investigates, monitors power, and helps to understand the events that shape the present. Magazines delve deeper, explore specific areas, recover stories, open cultural windows, and offer space for curiosity and knowledge. They are not interchangeable formats, but they are essential allies.

When the success of content is measured only by clicks, screen time, or the ability to generate reactions, what is important can be displaced by what provokes an immediate response. An investigation that requires time or a report that cannot be summarized in a catchy phrase can have immense public value even if they are not the most shared content.

The Consell de la Informació de Catalunya, in the study Algorithms in newsrooms, posits that personalization must coexist with diversity and contribute to the health of the public sphere. It also maintains that the use of artificial intelligence and automated tools must be guided by the ethical values of journalism, as technology can help produce better information, but it cannot replace editorial responsibility or decide on its own what is relevant or which voices should be heard.

For this reason, it is necessary to claim human decisions that verify data before publishing it, provide space for diverse voices, or prepare a dossier with depth. These are tasks that no recommendation based solely on our previous habits can guarantee. They offer us what the algorithm would not necessarily put in front of us, such as a different perspective, an uncomfortable question, or a reality we were unaware of.

Reading a magazine calmly, leafing through a report, or delving into a journalistic analysis are forms of cultural and informative consumption that should not be subjected to the constant interruption of notifications and claims. Paper can offer this pause, but well-designed digital editions can too, placing the reading experience and the quality of the content at the center.

It is precisely to preserve and strengthen this ecosystem that APPEC exists, the entity that brings together and promotes magazines and digital media. Within this same spirit is the Night of Magazines and the Press in Catalan and its awards, a meeting of the publishing, journalistic, and cultural world that aims to recognize the work that often remains behind each publication. Rewarding these titles means making professional and diverse work visible, and remembering that behind every magazine and every media outlet there are teams that sustain a way of informing, disseminating, and explaining the world with their own criteria.

The underlying question is who we want to decide what deserves our attention, and we have two options. On one hand, we can let this function increasingly rely on systems that predict our behavior, or, on the other hand, we can preserve spaces where judgment, responsibility, and curiosity guide our choices. Quality magazines and press are part of this answer, because they remind us that informing, interpreting, and discovering are human acts, and in a society governed by automatic recommendations, we need media that help us look beyond.