Traditional media vs. new media: Differences, pros and cons

What is traditional media?

Traditional media typically refers to channels that have been in use for decades. They are well-established and commonly follow a structured, professional editorial process. Traditional media is often characterized by having a top-down communication model. Information is produced by a team of professionals, and it is then distributed to a local or national audience.

According to Deloitte research, older age groups prefer consuming traditional news sources. Seventy-two percent of 45- to 54-year-olds and 77% of 55- to 75-year-olds prefer watching TV news and other TV programs for news. Only 39% of 18- to 24-year-olds said the same.

Examples of traditional media include the following:

• Television.
• AM and FM radio.
• Newspapers.
• Magazines.
• Direct mail.

By the same account, businesses have long relied on traditional media for advertisements. Advertising with traditional media typically requires a large budget and covers areas such as television commercials, billboards, print advertising and newspaper inserts. However, traditional marketing methods have lost some appeal since the emergence of new media. New media enables an organization to better target audiences for less of an upfront cost. This disruption also began showing a shift in consumer trends.

What is new media?

New media refers to digital communication channels that began to emerge with the internet. One of the defining characteristics of new media is how it enables users to be active participants. Not only can users consume content, but they can also create and post their own content. They can post comments; share posts; and, in some instances, interact with the content in real time.

Examples of new media include the following:

• Social media.
• YouTube.
• Email.
• Podcasts.
• Blogs.
• Netflix.
• Spotify.

New media is also commonly characterized by accessibility, as many platforms are not just locked to a single medium. For example, the video-sharing platform YouTube is accessible through mediums such as smartphones, desktops, smart TVs and game consoles.

New media is also an increasingly effective way for businesses to perform targeted advertising. These can include video ads, banner ads, email and social media marketing.

Traditional media vs. new media

Traditional and new media have their own associated pros and cons that differentiate them from each other. Some immediate differences between traditional and new media include the following.

Reach

Traditional media generally reaches a broad but limited audience. Limitations are often confined to regional or national boundaries.

New media, by comparison, has a global reach that enables instant global access by anyone with an internet connection.

Engagement

Traditional media is typically limited to one-way communication channels, where audiences are mostly restricted to passively receiving content without many opportunities for direct interactions.

New media is commonly characterized by providing ample opportunities for user engagement. This can include posting comments, sharing content with others and promoting users to create and share their own content.

Cost

Traditional media can be expensive to produce and distribute. Newspapers and magazines, for example, need to pay for an enormous amount of paper, ink and employees to run the printing press plus costs to maintain antiquated equipment.

New media, by comparison, is generally more affordable. Online platforms typically let creators publish and share their content at a relatively low cost. For example, producing and distributing a video essay or documentary can be considerably less costly on a new media platform such as YouTube than it would be on a traditional media platform such as television.

Delivery medium and format

Traditional media typically relies on physical and over-the-air broadcasts, though television is now broadcast digitally. Traditional media is typically accessible through mediums such as paper, television and radio.

New media relies on digital technology in various multimedia formats. New media is typically accessible on devices such as desktop computers, laptops, smartphones, tablets and wearable technology.

Accessibility

Access to traditional media is often dependent on an individual's physical access to that media. In some cases, this access might be limited to subscriptions and cable packages.

New media is widely accessible to anyone with internet access. Like traditional media, access might sometimes be limited to subscriptions, depending on the media and platform.

Targeting

Traditional media lacks a lot of the in-depth marketing tactics that new media can typically take advantage of.

New media takes advantage of the use of available data analytics and algorithms, making it possible to advertise to select target audiences.

Economic models

Traditional media commonly relies on subscription fees, sales and advertisements.

New media commonly relies on a mix of subscription fees, advertisements and sponsorships as well as a mix of direct and indirect monetization options, such as crowdsourcing.

Credibility

Traditional media typically follows more strict editorial standards, historically increasing its perceived credibility over new media.

New media typically has less oversight and guidelines regarding user-generated information, historically decreasing its general credibility.

Impact

Traditional media typically has a longer-lasting societal impact on public opinion partially due to its historical role of shaping public opinion over time.

New media commonly has a more immediate and high-impact societal impact when compared to traditional media. However, this impact can be short-term due to how fast information and trends change on the internet.

Trustworthiness and fake news in traditional and new media

Both traditional and new media have been accused of spreading misinformation and "fake news." This is a complicated and multifaceted issue, as there isn't a singular overall source from which the issue is stemming. Likewise, there isn't a singular overall solution to the problem.

Traditional media

Traditional media has a long-standing sense of trust due to traditional journalism practices of fact-checking and editorial ethics. However, people increasingly feel that some networks lean too much toward specific viewpoints and agendas, making the reporting seem more biased. This perception of bias is a big reason some find it harder to trust traditional media news sources.

Traditional news sources also commonly face commercial pressures that can lead some organizations to promote attention-grabbing stories to attract and hold the attention of more consumers. Certain stories might be presented in such a way where an issue is exaggerated or a more important but less eye-catching detail is neglected. While this doesn't mean a story is innately false, it can shape how an audience perceives the information and the news source.

A good way to visualize this growing perception of bias and accuracy is by using a news source political bias chart. These charts visually organize news outlets based on perceived political leanings and reliability. The goal is to help people identify where traditional news media fall on the "left" to "right" spectrum and how factual or opinionated they are.

The level of trust the public has in traditional news sources also depends on party and age. A survey from Pew Research Center found that people who lean right are less likely to trust national news outlets compared to those who lean left. However, younger left-leaning audiences are also less likely to trust national news outlets compared to their older counterparts. Another study from Gallup found that 54% of those who lean left and just 12% of those who lean right say they either have a great deal or a fair amount of trust in media.

Hyperlocal news sources -- such as local news stations and small-town newspapers -- have maintained more trust in the public over time. A separate report from Pew Research Center found that perceptions of local news don't have the same political divides. The study cites that 85% of adults in the U.S. believe that local news outlets are at least somewhat important to local communities and that 71% of adults believe that local news is reported accurately.

New media

New media faces its own difficulties. One of the largest but more subtle changes that new media brings is in how news is communicated. Traditional media relies heavily on a broadcast model, where one person speaks to many people. New media -- in particular, social media -- users receive their information through an algorithmic model. Initially, this form of communication reaches a much smaller audience, as it depends on virality. But the more a post is shared and the more interactions it receives, the more people see it. Because of this, more extreme opinions commonly perform better online because they are more likely to receive interactions. A large negative to this model is that more polarizing content is normalized, and it can exaggerate the spread of disinformation and misinformation.

A Forbes interview with Dr. Julianna Kirschner, a lecturer at the University of Southern California, said social media platforms are more interested in viewership and engagement, which is why they typically prioritize news content that users already support. This is, in part, what creates an echo chamber for users, further exacerbating political divides.

Like how traditional media might exaggerate stories to capture more viewer attention, new media practices include another concept called rage baiting, which is where a news or opinion piece is framed specifically to invoke user outrage and increase interactions.

People commonly consume their news from new media platforms such as social media, blogs, podcasts and mainstream news websites. News content could be created by sources such as mainstream news brands, smaller independent news sources, online personalities, ordinary people, politicians and activists. An issue here is that, depending on the source, news on new media formats lacks a centralized editorial oversight. This creates more room for misinformation and unchecked claims.

Everyone is biased, intentionally or not. That bias, in one way or another, leaks into news sources. What's most immediately important going into the future is being able to recognize and navigate those biases.

How to navigate media and fake news

Navigating the media and fake news takes a lot of personal legwork and a keen eye. But the process starts with being open to new information and being willing to change a stance based upon newer, more objective information.

Some strategies include the following:

• Media bias charts. Referencing charts such as the Ad Fontes or AllSides media bias charts will help you understand the general political leaning of a source and its accuracy. You can use this to look for more objective news sources to follow or use it as a starting point to better identify potential biases presented by these sources.
• Aggregation apps. There are some applications out there, such as the Apple News app, that collect and show news from a collection of different traditional news outlets. Other apps, such as Ground News, aggregate similar stories from different outlets to compare biases and gaps in coverage.
• Fact-checking tools. Fact-checking websites such as FactChek.org or PolitiFact specialize in checking the validity of different stories and public statements. They also provide evidence-backed ratings to each.
• Be wary while using social media. Because social media algorithms commonly push for engagement, more polarizing content is typically pushed to the front. You should be wary of who is posting information, identify their biases and cross-check their claims.
• Cross-check sources. Don't rely on a single news source. When following a story, check how other reliable outlets are reporting on it. This will help you spot potential biases and coverage gaps. It is also important to note that developing stories might contain conflicting information and are not an immediate indication of bias, as developing stories might have quickly changing numbers or facts as the story unfolds.
• Look for primary sources. Reliable outlets will commonly cite studies, reports and primary documents that point to where information was initially obtained. Assessing where primary information comes from can provide additional context to the story and might also help you identify different biases.
• Close reading on titles and word usage. Words and phrases used in titles, bodies of text or audio by news outlets might reflect some of their subtle biases. For example, the same event could be called a conflict, war, clash, occupation or crisis by different sources. Each word carries its own connotations that could denote a potential bias.
• Remain critical. If someone claims something is fake news, no matter who they are, it is important to remain critical. Question where conflicting information comes from and how it was sourced.
• Be wary of tech advancements. Audio and video can be manipulated to mislead an audience. And the tech behind this is only getting more and more convincing. Through the use of AI, malicious actors can fake convincing audio and video of someone. Even without the use of AI, malicious actors can still make convincing edits. Detecting these practices can be challenging and requires a keen eye. Learn more about how to detect AI-generated content.
• Challenge yourself. If you find yourself in an echo chamber where you are surrounded by a single community or consuming the same news sources, it is important to challenge yourself by looking at more diverse ideas and listening to other news sources.

Alexander S. Gillis is a technical writer for WhatIs. He holds a bachelor's degree in professional writing from Fitchburg State University.