Kara David explains why journalism is important in the time of social media

In the modern world where anyone can easily produce content for the masses via social media, why is mainstream media still needed?

GMA News journalist Kara David has a prompt and sure answer for that question: accountability.

"You can be sure that mainstream journalists are always, always 100% accountable for everything that they say in the media," Kara said in an interview on The Howie Severino Podcast. "Everything we say can be subject to charges, we can be sued for libel. Our faces are right there, right?"

"In the organization we work in, we can be fired if what we're doing is wrong. But in social media, can you guarantee that all the people who post there are accountable for what they say, for what they post on social media? No. Some of them are anonymous, some of them are paid trolls, some of them just post what they feel like," she added.

Kara said there are those who purposely post things that would trigger people just to gain views, or clout, as the internet calls it nowadays.

She added that for journalists, fact-checking is vital and is part of a long process.

"All the content that is broadcasted in our network passes through many people. I don't think it's widely known that after I write the script, I don't voice or broadcast it immediately," she said.

"That information goes through the director, editor, executive producer, and program manager. If there are legalities to be considered, that goes all the way up to the VPs before it's aired. That means that many people study that script before it reaches the television," she added.

However, Kara said that social media is important, and so are citizen journalists.

In fact, she's happy that more people are becoming more knowledgeable and are posting news and personal opinions online.

But she said the importance of mainstream journalists shouldn't be taken away.

"When you're on social media, don't you want to verify the truth? Where would you go for that? Wouldn't you go to tried and tested credible news organizations?" she said.

"Without those journalists, who would you run to? The internet is organized chaos, right? So everything would be chaotic without journalists who are always, always accountable for what they say," she added.

Asked why the youth should consider becoming journalists, Kara said that there are still so many stories that need to be told.

"I know that information these days is accessible with one click, but so many hidden stories and issues need to be shed light on. There are plenty of institutions in our society that need to be checked. Ultimately, the media is a check on society. It provides checking balance," she said.

"The media is what exposes the anomalies in government and other institutions. There are so many injustices still happening in the country. There are still so many children who can't study, so many communities that don't get serviced, so many people who are abused by institutions and powerful people," she added.

"We need more journalists because there are many more people whose eyes we need to open." —JCB, GMA News