Opinion: Riots show value of local media to counteract hateful misinformation

'We live in dangerous times', is something that I hear more often these days. 

I agree with the statement. Perhaps not though, for the same reasons others believe it to be true.

I’m in my mid-50s and have been a journalist for 35 years. In 1990 I was a young reporter for BBC Radio Berkshire — it was my first job, and I was asked to cover the third anniversary of what was then the UK’s worst mass shooting in Hungerford. 

Tragically, acts of extreme violence happen in this country. They are always horrendous, but they are still rare.

What is new is how such a terrible, tragic event can be deliberately used by politically motivated groups to rapidly spread misinformation through social media. 

Their posts stoke violence and hatred and seriously harm communities that want to play no part in it. Southport, Liverpool, Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Rotherham, Hull and Tamworth have all experienced such violence and there are warnings more towns and cities could face the same.

The people spreading this false information don’t care whether or not it is true. Their words and images are posted to further fuel their cause of hatred.

As their social media posts are shared and we receive them on our feeds, we start to ask if it is true. It looks convincing, but how can we be sure it is or isn't true?

The world is more dangerous than ever because of this. People who want to cause unrest understand technology and know how powerful words and pictures can be. They can manipulate us.

So the role of trained journalists has never been more important — checking facts, respecting the law and being accountable. We are trained to question information and get as close to accuracy as we can. 

We act responsibly and publish. We are accountable. You can sue us, report us to our independent regulator (Impress, in the Stray Ferret’s case) and take us to court if we get it wrong. Public trust is everything to a news organisation — we have to be reliable.

This comes at a price though. Skill, experience and expertise and external regulation mean journalism is an expensive business. It shouldn’t be undervalued. We need to shout more loudly about the risks of losing local news outlets. We have to champion the role of people whose sole job is to report factually accurate information.

So, when I get asked ‘do I really have to pay for local news?’, I say 'yes you do if you want a sustainable, trustworthy source of information'. Sadly, the economics of producing quality news means it can’t be free.

In the past you bought a newspaper, it was the go-to source of reliable information. People rightly believed the news in their local newspaper. They didn’t think anything of paying for it.

In my view nothing has changed- except we all use our phones to read the news.

Please trust in the work of trained journalists and support them.

It’s never been more important.

Tamsin O'Brien is founder and co-owner of the Stray Ferret.

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