"A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention," economist Herbert Simon wrote in 1971. Although more than half a century has passed, the statement continues to speak to the present.  In the digital environment, characterized by the abundance of information, attention has become a scarce and increasingly valuable resource.

Like any other actor, journalism has been forced to adapt to new dynamics. Faced with the oversupply of content, media outlets and journalists must attract the attention of dispersed audiences, even if that eagerness often involves sacrificing the quality of their work.

This phenomenon seems to follow what Alessandro Baricco described in The Game (2018) as "quick-truth": a simplified version of truth designed to be consumed instantaneously and in which precision is sacrificed in exchange for synthesis and speed. 

According to Baricco, in the past, truth operated in more information-dense systems, where news circulated at a slower pace and journalists could take more time to verify facts. On the contrary, in times marked by immediacy and the multiplicity of information actors, the "aerodynamics" of truth – that is, the way in which it is transmitted or disseminated – has been redesigned to adjust to a more accelerated logic. 

The result is a cycle in which platforms and media prioritize speed over veracity, which leaves the field open for the proliferation of inaccurate or false information and simple content. This not only changes how news is consumed, but also the concept of what audiences consider "relevant information", as depth shifts to prioritize eye-catching headlines and fast-consuming stories.

In this scenario, journalism faces a crucial dilemma: How do you stand out in a saturated ecosystem without compromising the rigor needed to report accurately?

To mitigate this challenge, within the framework of the regional workshops Journalism and the Attention Economy, in Linterna Verde we developed a Traffic Light with key points to consider when presenting digital reports. The structure of this input seeks to help journalists navigate and filter digital information without sacrificing the rigor of their reporting.

The Traffic Light uses a scale of three colors (red, yellow and green) to evaluate different criteria in the digital conversation, such as the relevance, reliability and relevance of the topics to be addressed. 

The red color highlights possible incentives that would explain the course of a conversation in the digital environment; yellow indicates that the topic is beginning to escalate in the public discussion; and green indicates limitations for reporting. 

Each criterion of the Traffic Light is accompanied by key questions that guide the analysis and can help journalists to more accurately evaluate the object to be covered. 

In an environment dominated by immediacy and simplification, this Traffic Light can be a useful and practical tool to balance speed and rigor in journalistic coverage. 

Learn about the Traffic Light here: