[Event Report] Symposium: "What are 'Newspapers' in a Digital Society?" (2) After-Session (Student Discussion) Report

December 16, 2021

The "Platforms and the '2040 Problem'" project is part of KGRI's "2040 Independence and Self-Respect Project." As part of this initiative, the symposium "What are 'Newspapers' in a Digital Society?" was held on September 17, 2021. (*1)

In a digital society where the management and monitoring of information by platform companies is pervasive and where fake news and "kotatsu articles" circulate without limit, the very role and nature of journalism are being questioned. Under these circumstances, can newspapers survive?

Following presentations by newspaper, web, and other media professionals and researchers, and a panel discussion featuring guests such as Atsushi Tamura, a talent from Yoshimoto Kogyo, a student-led after-session was held. It was an attempt to shed light on how Gen Z, known as digital natives, consumes newspapers and media, and to consider the future direction they should take. This report provides a digest of the enthusiastic discussion, which featured the "raw voices" of the students themselves and welcomed experts. (*2)

(*1) Co-hosted by the Keio University Global Research Institute (KGRI) and the Keio University Institute for Journalism, Media & Communication Studies (MediaCom).

(*2) This is a two-part series from the symposium: (1) Panel Discussion Report and (2) After-Session (Student Discussion) Report.

Symposium: "What are 'Newspapers' in a Digital Society?" (1) Media Professionals × Researchers Panel Discussion Report

After-Session: "Gen Z's New Conference: Considering the Ideal Form of News Consumption to Maintain the Role of Newspapers"

The "Platforms and the '2040 Problem'" project was launched to address the unprecedented changes that the expansion of network space and the continued growth of massive platform companies are having on social order, and to aim for solutions to legal and ethical issues.

Among the issues this project addresses, various frictions symbolized by fake news and "kotatsu articles" have been pointed out regarding new media that have developed alongside platforms. In a rapidly changing media environment, can newspaper journalism, which has traditionally supported democracy from the perspective of the "right to know," truly survive? The symposium titled "What are 'Newspapers' in a Digital Society?" was held as an attempt to shed light on this issue, which shakes the very foundation of public discourse, from an interdisciplinary perspective.

In response to the spread of COVID-19, the symposium was held in a hybrid format that included online participation. Presentations were given by representatives from newspapers, web media, platform companies, and researchers, followed by a panel discussion with guests including Atsushi Tamura, a talent from Yoshimoto Kogyo. Afterward, student volunteers who were also involved in running the symposium took the lead in holding an after-session titled "Gen Z's New Conference: Considering the Ideal Form of News Consumption to Maintain the Role of Newspapers."

How does Gen Z, who have grown up with digital tools since they can remember, interact with newspapers and other news media, and what do they demand from the way news is reported? This report covers the discussion, which incorporated new approaches such as online surveys and soliciting questions via chat.

Guest: Akira Amano principal investigator, Dentsu Media Innovation Lab, Dentsu Inc. (remote participation)

Kazuya Matsumoto Journalist, former editor-in-chief of "Ronza," Asahi Shimbun

Panelists: Keio University Student Volunteers

Moderator: Eijiro Mizutani Associate Professor, Faculty of Sociology, Kansai University

MCs: Shingo Miyadai, Kanna Takahashi Third-year students, Faculty of Law, Tatsuhiko Yamamoto Seminar

Discussion Topic 1: Understanding News Consciousness Through Gen Z

Shingo Miyadai and Kanna Takahashi : We are Miyadai and Takahashi from the Tatsuhiko Yamamoto Seminar, third-year students at the Faculty of Law. In this after-session, we will explore how Gen Z interacts with newspapers and news, and delve into the future of news in a digital society while gathering participants' raw feedback through an online survey.

Eijiro Mizutani : I'm Mizutani from Kansai University, where I research media law and information law. I hope to find a new path forward for the future of newspapers, the theme of today's symposium, from the perspective of the younger generation.

Kazuya Matsumoto : I previously worked for the Asahi Shimbun and served as a part-time lecturer at the Keio University Faculty of Law from 2017 to 2018. I love discussing things with young people for one simple reason: only you can create the future. I look forward to a lively discussion today.

Akira Amano : At Dentsu's Media Innovation Lab, I'm involved in researching social media and media usage by young people and providing consulting to companies based on that research. I've published books summarizing my research, such as "A History of Social Media: The Future of a Society Connected by 'Likes'," and I have a new book coming out about the trend of short-form videos like on TikTok and their social impact. Recently, I've also been working on a research project with a company that operates a news app, so I'm looking forward to discussing the news experiences of young people while also hearing your opinions.

Miyadai : First, we'd like to hear from everyone using Zoom's poll feature. The response fields are different for those 26 and over and those 25 and under. Please post any answers not listed in the options in the chat.

Survey 1: "What media do you usually use to get news?"

Excerpts from the results :

Mizutani : As expected, online news is dominant overall. I use news apps myself, but the response "Twitter" is particularly interesting. Also, as pointed out in "AFTER SOCIAL MEDIA" (p. 40) by the Institute for Media and Environment Design at Hosei University's Graduate School, a major difference between people in their teens and 20s and older generations is that the former have more passive contact with news, such as through push notifications on their smartphones, rather than actively seeking it out.

Amano : News apps are also designed to grab attention right from the smartphone notification stage. Twitter and LINE are strengthening their news functions as well, but a significant part of their news value is "what everyone is talking about" (social buzz).

Mizutani : What about the opinions of those who answered in the chat?

Rinko Furushima : I'm Furushima from the Tatsuhiko Yamamoto Seminar, a third-year student in the Faculty of Law. Since moving to Tokyo, I haven't subscribed to a newspaper. I read LINE NEWS and Yahoo! News every day during my commute and other travel time.

Rikuto Ueda : I'm Ueda, also from the Tatsuhiko Yamamoto Seminar and a third-year student in the Faculty of Law. I answered "Twitter," but I don't post myself. I follow online news related to my hobbies like cars and sports and read the articles that appear in my feed. Because of my part-time job, I also read newspapers regularly, so I have a lot of "passive news experiences," like checking trending topics to see what's currently popular.

Amano : It's true that many people want to fill their timelines with topics they like. It's said to be a characteristic of Japanese users to have multiple accounts, such as one for hobbies and another just for interacting with friends. On top of that, there seems to be a demand for letting machines filter information to optimize it for oneself, creating the most pleasant news experience possible.

Mizutani : In the earlier panel discussion, Professor Shuzo Yamagoshi of the Keio University Faculty of Law mentioned that "in the past, you could look at the front page of a newspaper to grasp what was important in society and reaffirm your connection to it." The smartphone has fragmented that, and for better or worse, a trend has emerged where people only consume content that aligns with their own interests.

Survey 2: "What do you look for in news?"

Excerpts from the results :

Miyadai : Among those 26 and over, "accuracy" was high at 39 percent, and "relevance to interests" was 13 percent. Similarly, for those 25 and under, "accuracy" was 26 percent, followed by "convenience" at 12 percent.

Mizutani : This is just as I expected, with little difference between generations. "Accuracy" is valued as a measure of high-quality news, such as that from newspapers. At the same time, we should consider that there might be a gap in the concept of "news" between Gen Z and older generations. It seems that for Gen Z, topics like music and entertainment are increasingly recognized as news, in addition to politics and economics.

Amano : That trend likely exists. Many services like LINE NEWS mix serious topics like social issues with softer topics like entertainment to increase page views, and on Twitter timelines, various topics are mixed together. This major shift in how information is delivered is affecting the sensibility of "what is perceived as news."

Takahashi : I wrote "sincerity" as what I look for in news. Even if an article is true, I don't want to support media that publish articles written with the intent to undermine one side, or articles that I feel lack decency.

Furushima : I thought I was actively checking articles on news sites, but I've realized that I might have only been seeing news with high public interest, thanks to algorithms that show me topics similar to what I usually read.

Mizutani : Takashi Iwata from the Keio Research Institute at SFC wrote in the chat, "Whether it seems likely to lead to improvements in the world, society, or policy." So, not just criticism, but whether an article can lead to improvement.

Takashi Iwata : That's right. For example, there was recent news that "the national debt per person has reached about 10 million yen," but there was no information on how to interpret that. The news is fragmented, and I wonder how many people can understand it comprehensively. As a result, I feel it leads to an emotional state of "This is outrageous, let's do something!" which doesn't lead to constructive discussion.

Nagi Yoshida : I'm Yoshida, from the Tatsuhiko Yamamoto Seminar and a third-year student in the Faculty of Law. I realized during the COVID-19 pandemic that news that only shows one side of an issue is frightening. While I understand that the sender has their own opinions and intentions, I think the only solution is for the receiver to expose themselves to news from different perspectives and acquire the ability to discern information bias.

Mizutani : I also tell my students to consciously expose themselves to diverse information. However, I worry whether it's truly possible for everyone, including myself, to possess such an ability while being exposed to this vast amount of information daily. Mr. Amano, in your book, you wrote that young people's method of information gathering is shifting from "guguru" (Googling) to "taguru" (searching by hashtag).

Amano : Encountering desired information while browsing via "taguru" is an active information behavior that leads to deepening one's own interests. It also holds the potential to expose users to different opinions, counteracting the narrow view of an optimized timeline.

Mizutani : On the other hand, I'm concerned about the limitations of "taguru," such as the division between supporters and others in "Twitter demos," and manipulative aspects involving bots. The discrepancy between public opinion on Twitter and public opinion polls is often pointed out, and I think online media has its limits, especially concerning the role newspapers have played in democracy by "fostering common ground in society," as was presented in the panel discussion.

Discussion Topic 2: Understanding the Value of "Newspapers" Through Gen Z

Survey 3: "How much are you willing to pay for news per month?"

Excerpts from the results :

Mizutani : Naturally, the younger people are, the less money they can spend on news. But at the same time, isn't the sense of paying for information fading due to the spread of the internet? I think "Manga-mura," the site that was shut down for illegally distributing free copies of manga, is a prime example.

Amano : The value proposition for information has changed dramatically, starting with the emergence of music subscription services that offer unlimited access to music from around the world for less than the price of a single CD. You could say we live in a society with high consumer surplus, and the same is true in the news domain. That said, as social awareness of issues like fake news grows, the attitude that you need to pay a proper price for beneficial news, not just read what's free, should take root.

Mizutani : I think the development of news portal sites is also related to the reduced cost of information distribution through digitalization. In contrast, information generated by professional journalists involves significant costs. This is because what they have built up by dedicating their time and lives cannot be easily replaced by just anyone. That point should be what creates the unique nature of the reporting function.

Miyadai : I think it's a problem when primary information, which newspapers spend time and money to report, becomes a "first-come, first-served" game due to "kotatsu articles" that aren't based on original reporting. The value of newspapers that must be protected lies in their ability to dig into primary information, report the facts, and check power. But simply creating a digital version isn't enough; they get absorbed into the platform's "first-come, first-served" system. Amidst this, how can newspaper companies protect a system for getting paid?

Yoshida : Perhaps a business model could be created where the journalist's face is visible, and people "pay for what this person is saying." If they share their process on Twitter and other platforms, I think it could attract the interest of young people in a way that's different from influencers.

Amano : "Visible faces" and "transparency" are very important keywords for Gen Z. In corporate and brand marketing, when the personality and values of the "person behind the account" are visible, followers increase. Unlike information, personality and character can't be copied, so I feel the same potential exists for journalists.

Mizutani : For the media, showing the reporter's face means they can no longer escape responsibility for what they've written. This links to the point raised in the panel discussion about "explaining the criteria for judging news value." However, it might be a scary prospect for journalists. Mr. Matsumoto, what are your thoughts?

Matsumoto : The idea is that a face becomes a clue for trusting information, but in essence, it's about showing the reporting and editing process. One method could be to have links to the reporter's background and publications for each article, along with a description of the reporting and editing intent. In any case, for the media to gain trust in a post-truth environment, it will take an immense amount of time and effort. On one hand, discourse that baselessly damages information based on reporting is being spread, while on the other, platform companies have gained the power to rival state authorities and are buying up newspaper companies' information at extremely low prices.

With that in mind, I'd like to introduce "The Trust Project" from the United States. Sally Lehrman of Santa Clara University held discussions with over 80 international news organizations and compiled eight criteria for measuring the trustworthiness of news, the "8 Trust Indicators," which include accuracy, author information, and sources. News sites that are judged to meet these criteria are allowed to display a "T mark," and many media outlets are adopting this. There are also examples like "De Correspondent," a paid online media outlet in the Netherlands that focuses on publishing long-form articles that are carefully crafted over time without being bound by the need for speed, and they are also experimenting with involving subscribers in the article production process.

Mizutani : The "8 Trust Indicators" seem to be one possible form for the future relationship between Gen Z and newspapers/news, which was our goal for today's discussion. Finally, Mr. Amano, could you please share your thoughts on the future of newspapers?

Amano : In Japan, SmartNews is working on the "SlowNews" project, which delivers news that isn't meant to be consumed quickly. "The Trust Project" is also interesting from the perspective of quality assurance for news. For all of you in Gen Z, who grew up in an environment of information overload, I think how newspapers and news will regain trust is an extremely important theme.

Miyadai : I believe these are initiatives that can serve as indicators for judging the reliability of information. I also learned that for the difference between newspaper articles and kotatsu articles, regaining trust by "visualizing" things like value judgments is important. Thank you all very much for today.

Held on September 17, 2021, at the East Research Building G-Lab, Mita Campus (in-person + online format)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of the event.