Social media has become an increasingly important part of American’s news consumption. According to Pew Research, 58% of Americans prefer getting news from ‘digital services,’ while 32% get news from TV and 4% get news from print publications. The increasing reliance on ‘digital services’ for consumption, though, has created an atomized news culture.

In the late 1980s, daily newspaper circulation peaked at around 62.6 million, but now, that number has been more than cut in half.

The outsized role social media plays in news consumption means Americans get news from an increasingly diverse number of organizations, many of which are ‘non-traditional’ sources like podcasts and influencers. However, social media technologies are built upon algorithms delivering content to users based on their taste and preferences.

Veteran journalist, Terry Mattingly, told Drew Mariani, “The internet is great at creating tiny little self-reinforcing niches.” Part of the reason the internet is so good at creating niches, or ‘silos’ is the way the ad business is structured. When newspapers were in wide circulation, they were filled with “general purpose advertising” like grocery stores coupons and car ads, Mattingly said.

The internet is structured not on general interest ads, but targeted ads based on search history and purchasing patterns. “Biased news now makes economic sense,” Mattingly told Drew, “Balanced news is now bad business.”

A Problem of Trust

Mattingly says Americans want balanced news. However, “Our choices say otherwise,” he noted.

This news stratification has coincided with a decrease in trust in institutions, including the media. According to Gallup, about 31% of Americans say they trust mass media ‘a great deal/fair amount,’ down from 72% in 1976.

Mattingly recommends news sources that quote sources on the record and direct readers public documents. And, when choosing who to follow on social media, Mattingly told Drew he follows publications and reporters he respects, even if he disagrees with them.

Catholics and Journalism

Pope Leo XIV recently spoke to the journalists who covered the conclave, where he implored them to help bring the world out of the “Tower of Babel”— “out of the confusion of loveless languages that are often ideological or partisan.”

He also called for communication “that is capable of listening and of gathering the voices of the weak who have no voice.”