Gabriel García Márquez said on one occasion that "a scoop is not given by the first public, it is given by the first who accurately counts it." And another teacher like the previous one, Albert Camus , warned that "the important thing is not to be first, the important thing is to be the best." Both were journalists and Nobel laureates.

In October 2017, when I was vice president of the Federation of Associations of Journalists of Spain (FAPE), we organized a debate in CaixaForum whose title was: "Back to journalism, key to the future of the profession" .

In one of these meetings the central theme was "Digital media: digital transformation, a challenge pending resolution. Management skills and creation of informational content". That day, one of the speakers defended and argued that "the important thing is to publish the first, however, and then we will adapt and update."

On January 27, two world journalism referents such as John Witherow , director of The Times Washing , and Martin Baron , of The Washington Post , received the El Mundo International Journalism award. And they had a talk with the professionals of the Editorial Unit and the students of the Masters of Journalism and Journalism of Research and Data and the two agreed with the approaches of Albert Camus and García Márquez: "The important thing is quality, excellence and the depth . "

Between yesterday and today, Journalism has undergone multiple technical transformations, but what we cannot change nor should we ever forget is the maxim that led those days: "Back to Journalism, key to the future of the profession". And what Witherow and Baron have reminded us: "Quality and depth" .

The "whatever" of that journalistic reflection made me think, first, and then wake up from the dream I had lived through many years of profession and teaching. I knew and noticed that the philosophy that governs a significant sector of the media has nothing to do with what I studied, practiced, taught and defended in the Association of Investigative Journalists (API) through the "Code of Good Practice " . Some think that "Journalism is worth everything" if that leads you to have more click, more audience. Others think, consider and defend that "Journalism is not worth everything" and that it is important to "document, accredit, verify and practice informative diligence" to the extremes or limits that "journalistic truth", not absolute truth, tells you. It allows.

At present there is talk of "fake news" , of fake news. It is not true, what exists and exists is "misinformation". In addition, citizens / readers have lost their ability to reflectively read (also understand viewers, listeners and others ...). Sadly, today, two fundamental issues prevail in the media: money and ideology . And the absence of two others is noted: professionalism and ethics.

A significant number of media look for clicks however and at whatever price because that is revenue. And in the second one, it seeks to provide your ideological audience with what they want to read even if the reality is different. In Spain we have seen and lived both in 11-M in Madrid and in the attacks of 17-A in Barcelona.

Every day it is easier to see how some misnamed journalists cut and paste news from others without quoting and also manipulate and adapt . And there is missing the figure of the editor that should contrast and verify. That editor, who should be a professional with experience and proven ability, is disappearing from the newsrooms because it is expensive and entrepreneurs look for results and not quality. And finally, ethics. Some even wonder what that is. Missing and much .

At this point, that of misinformation and lack of rigor, we must recover and remember two other greats of Journalism: Daniel Santoro (Argentina) and Jorge Cardona (Colombia). Santoro, teacher of the New Ibero-American Journalism Foundation (FNPI), a Research journalist and writer, reminds us: "The attribution of sources allows the reader to know the origin of the information. Citing the source gives credibility and intellectual honesty».

Jorge Cardona , journalist, philosopher, editor of El Espectador and teacher points out that "the great weakness of Journalism is memory". And it goes even further: "My dream is a journalism full of memory. When I insist so much on the context it is by memory." Cardona is the author of the work "Memory Days".

But not everything is negative. Fortunately, and in the face of "everything goes", there have been movements and committed professionals who raise the banner of good journalism and point to those who practice and try to make money with "misinformation" or "fake news."

In Spain we have Maldita.es ("Journalism so you don't get it"), an excellent portal for a group of young entrepreneurs, headed by Clara Jiménez and Julio Montes. The majority of that team was trained in the Master of Research Journalism , Data and Visualization of EL MUNDO and the Rey Juan Carlos University. In the same line as Maldita.es is Newtral and in front of her is a leading journalist, Ana Pastor. This platform and producer, which also contains the Master's seed, is dedicated, among other topics, to the verification of news and data (fact-checking) and has launched a line of research and artificial intelligence.

It is also interesting to remember and read Professor Raúl Magallón , from the Carlos III University, who has published an interesting study / book on "How to combat disinformation. A faking news".

To combat "misinformation", "fakenews", the lack of "memory and dating" and that argument that "everything is worth journalism" there are two excellent antidotes: "Form to inform" (philosophy of the masters I direct) and the "Code of Good Practices of the Association Journalists Research (API)".

* Antonio rubio

Antonio Rubio is a journalist, Doctor, Director Master El Mundo / CEU and Journalism Research and Data / URJC.

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