Conflict of interest norms will shift

Have you been on social media lately? Most Americans spend a great deal of time there, and journalists are no different. Since social media became mainstream, and likely even before that, journalists have spent time on multiple platforms disseminating news and finding sources. But the line between journalist-with-a-capital-J and content creator is starting to blur.

Journalists and those who study them have coined terms such as reciprocal journalism, social media branding, aspirational labor, and more to identify what journalists do online and the content they create beyond just disseminating news. But what we’re starting to see increasingly is journalists putting themselves out there as public figures. They make themselves available to the public to see who they are as people and not just the stories they tell as journalists. This includes behind the scenes looks into their personal lives as they get ready for work or take their dog for a walk.

And while some journalists do this simply for the fun of it, many do it at the behest of management who sees value in having a public drawn to journalists as people. Some say it can help build trust, while others say it helps increase views, clicks, or subscriptions. But much of this labor goes unpaid. Some journalists do it with the aspirational hope to monetize someday; others do it to perhaps increase followership and thusly make themselves more marketable when looking for jobs and negotiating salaries.

While journalism ethics have long said journalists must remain neutral, third-party observers who avoid conflicts of interest, others have begun to question whether the unpaid nature of this social media content creation is exploitation. And journalists are beginning to question whether it truly is unethical for them to accept brand deals for sponsored content on their social media accounts. Just last month while on Facebook, I was on a private page for broadcast journalists (which I will keep unnamed for privacy) and one journalist posed the question, “Has anyone been able to negotiate the right to earn commissions on their own social media into their contract?”

Ironically, days later, another group member posted, “Any recommendations for seasonal jobs that work well with a nightside shift? I’m in desperate need for a little extra holiday cash (and rent money).” It is no secret that journalism doesn’t pay well and as journalists spend copious time on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and the like, they are looking to make that often unpaid labor, well, paid. And herein lies my prediction: Journalism will shift what it considers to be “conflicts of interest” so that news organizations will allow their journalists to make money off their social media content if they wish. Put simply, journalistic norms and contracts that dictate journalists can’t — or shouldn’t — accept sponsored content opportunities on their social media accounts will shift. We’ll see more journalists requesting that their organizations allow such opportunities, and we’ll begin to see a shift in norms that suggest to accept such brand deals would be unethical. The idea being, if news organizations are going to push journalists more and more to put themselves out there on social media — including their personal lives in the content they create — they will need to reconsider what they see as a “gift” versus clear compensation for the labor of social media content creation.

It’s outside the scope of this prediction for me to expound much more. However, what I will say is that journalists are already content creators and even “influencers.” They’re simply asking to get paid for it. Organizations will need to acquiesce or see even more young and talented journalists leave for careers that are open to paying them for their labor.