Zakka Jacob on authenticity in news broadcasting industry

The power of authenticity lies in its ability to foster trust and engagement in news broadcasting. When journalists and news organisations prioritise honesty, transparency, and a commitment to unbiased reporting, they establish a vital connection with their audience. Authenticity builds credibility, encourages meaningful dialogue, and strengthens the bond between news broadcasters and the public, ultimately ensuring the dissemination of reliable information in an increasingly complex media landscape.

The third edition of IMAGEXX Summit and Awards 2023, held on June 09, 2023, witnessed an interesting keynote address from  Zakka Jacob, Managing Editor, CNN-News18, on the topic, ‘The power of authenticity: Building trust and engagement in news broadcasting’.

Jacob spoke about how to build trust and engagement with the audience, how to deal with fake news and misinformation, and how to uphold journalistic ethics and values. “In this era, where we have information overload, there is also rising scepticism and there is the spectre of fake news. I think establishing trust and engaging the audiences is going to be absolutely crucial for any news organisation. Authenticity is that key which unlocks the doors to trust; it helps foster meaningful connections with our viewers,” he said, adding that authenticity reinforces the very vital role that journalism plays in today’s polarised and contested times.

He also acknowledged that there are many people, especially on social media, who believe that journalism and journalists are bad for the society. He pointed out that they actually are purveyors who don’t necessarily toe a certain line or don’t necessarily help in the cause of nation building and so on.

Elaborating on the topic of ‘authenticity’, he noted, “We find ourselves in this age of fake news. And this is a problem that newsrooms like mine face every single day. This is a living problem for us. The advent of social media and the rapid spread of misinformation has given rise to a crisis of trust in the media, people today are not taking the media as seriously as they used to 20-30 years ago. In recent years, we have seen numerous instances, where fake news has not only misled the public, but it has had real world consequences. People have lost their lives because of fake news.”

Citing an example, Jacob recounted, “Just a few days ago, there was this story around an explosion that happened at the Pentagon building, where the Ministry of Defense is in the United States, one of the most well protected buildings in the world. And that was the story that broke, it was about five, six o’clock in the evening, which would have been morning time in the East Soast in the US, saying that there was this massive explosion that happened outside the Pentagon building. This story first appeared on a Bloomberg Twitter handle – now it was not the main Bloomberg handle, but it was called Bloomberg Feeds or something. The reason why the story became viral or why newsrooms started picking up this story was because this particular handle from where the story originated had a blue tick, which means it is an authentic handle, or at least you are led to believe that it is an authentic handle. So, newsrooms around the world picked it up; in India, too, many news channels played the story. In fact, the impact of it was felt straight away, because the Dow Jones, which is the US stock market index, fell very briefly upon this news.”

However, the Bloomberg handle from where it was tweeted out was a fake account. “On Twitter these days, you can pay just $8 a month to get a blue tick, you don’t have to be an authentic source of information or you don’t have to be an authentic news brand,” he pointed out.

While stressing on the importance of checking the source of the news and figuring out whether the news is fake or not, Jacob said, “You need to have trusted sources of information and trusted news outlets, because that’s the only way you can beat this fake news spectre in this day and age,” he added. For this, there have to be reporters on the ground, who can confirm or deny the authenticity of the news to the editors in the newsroom. The designated reporters also need to have credible sources who can authenticate the information.

These are edited excerpts. For the complete keynote address, watch below:

https://youtu.be/BmiE-Fn_xyM