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10:38 POLITICS

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Television like "TikTok".

2024-05-10 16:30:00, Opinione Lutfi Dervishi

Lutfi Dervishi

Television, the grandfather of media, is experiencing an identity crisis. But instead of aging gracefully, showing experience and wisdom, he decided to imitate "TikTok".

The role of television has been to inform, educate and entertain. Apparently this triangle is no longer fashionable. Viral videos are the trend. The distinction between what is in the public interest and what is interesting to the public has been obliterated by the order behind viewers. Reason? "This is what the viewer wants". Henry Ford used to say that if I asked people they would ask for faster horses - not the car.

In the overcrowded media market, and at a time when we also have synthetic media (Artificial Intelligence products), trust is the main currency.

Trying to turn TV into "TikTok" is not only a loss of tradition and originality, but also a missed opportunity. Television can play to its strengths by offering quality over quantity, creating content that addresses complex issues—things that take more than 60 seconds to understand. The rush is to produce "digital fast food" tasty for the moment, but without nutritional value.

Well-known models of journalism such as the "BBC" serve to show that the mission of TV is responsible reporting, education, entertainment, research, in-depth analysis and contextuality. More than being first, it pays to be accurate. Trying to imitate the "TikTok" model causes television to dilute its most valuable asset - credibility. When a big event happens, people want to learn from "TikTok" but from the best Television.

The battle for attention today is fierce. Social media platforms, with their algorithms, are designed to keep users hooked with content that ranges from the sublime to the ridiculous. In the rush to compete, TV risks becoming a bad copy of "influencers" who show you how to wash your hands, where you should eat and how you should dress.

It is as if in a village with many wounds, the doctor leaves the stethoscope and joins the crowd of "folk doctors".

Let TikTok be TikTok and television, television.