A campaign is launched that highlights the value of professional journalism.

Representative bodies of newspapers, magazines, radio stations, and television channels launched a campaign to highlight the value of professional journalism as a guarantee of the full functioning of democracy and to combat fake news circulating on social media.

The president of the Argentine Association of Journalistic Entities (ADEPA), Martín Etchevers, led the campaign launch event and in his speech called for defending "the value of journalism" as "a basis for public debate with verified information and reasoned opinions, which is what journalism contributes to democracy."

Etchevers alluded to the challenge facing the sustainability of journalism in the face of the use of content by technology platforms without respecting intellectual property rights . He also addressed the proliferation of false content in the digital ecosystem and the growing risk of misinformation. “We live in an age of opaque algorithms, meaning bubbles, and fake news. Journalism is more necessary than ever to ensure fact-based public debate,” he said.

ADEPA presented the campaign together with representatives of the Argentine Association of Broadcasters (ATA) and the Association of Argentine Private Radio Stations (ARPA), entities that worked together on this initiative.

Eugenio Sosa Mendoza, president of ATA, highlighted the work Argentine journalism is doing to foster a climate of democratic coexistence in the country, in a context he described as "one of significant challenges in the face of attempts to discredit us and not always positive forecasts about our impact on society."

Daniel Dessein, president of the ADEPA Press Freedom Commission , also participated. He raised a paradox: "Journalism is being challenged with a virulence that has few precedents, but at the same time, Argentine journalism has the most modern newsrooms in Latin America and multiple recognitions," in terms of paid subscriptions and audience volumes that are internationally notable.

The presentation at ADEPA headquarters was accompanied by the dissemination of data on media consumption and how society perceives it.

The primary source of information for Argentine society is traditional media, which together account for 61.9% of the total, compared to 28.5% using social media, 5.9% using streaming channels, and 3.7% using other means to regularly stay informed.

Those who get their information mainly from traditional media do so from news channels (25.6%), open TV (20.3%), paper and digital newspapers (10.5%) and AM and FM radio (5.5%).

Among the 28.5% who chose social media as their primary source of information, it was noted that the majority of accounts followed for this purpose are those of traditional media (40.7%) and journalists' personal accounts (25.1%).

When asked, "How satisfied are you with the quality of the news you consume?", 78.6% responded "satisfied," 19.3% said they were "dissatisfied," and 2.1% did not respond.

The consulting firm concluded that "mass media remain highly relevant in terms of information and news, regardless of the format of consumption." According to the report, two out of three Argentinians follow the news with interest, while only 6% responded that they are "little" or "not at all" interested in the news.

Finally, when asked "How much do you trust the media?" the survey found that 6 out of 10 Argentinians trust journalism. When asked about social media, two out of three people said they distrust the news circulating there.

The data were presented by Gonzalo de Janín and Ramiro Fernández of the consulting firm Trends, based on a survey conducted in May on a sample of 2,000 cases nationwide.

"The data shows us that journalism remains a fundamental value in society, highlighting problems and putting them on the agenda so other institutional actors can work on solutions," Etchevers summarized.

The meeting closed with a call to universities and new generations of journalists to join the campaign. "There are students who feel their vocation is stigmatized. This campaign is also for them, so they know that journalism matters," concluded the president of ADEPA.