Look, I’m Gonna Say It
I’ve been in this industry for 22 years. I’ve seen alot, and frankly, the news is completley broken. It’s not just the algorithms or the 24-hour cycle. It’s us. All of us.
I remember back in 2003, when I was just starting out at the Daily Chronicle in Manchester. My editor, let’s call him Marcus, used to say, ‘News is like a good steak, Sarah. It needs time to marinate.’ And he was right. Then the internet happened.
Now? It’s all about speed. About being first. About clicks. And it’s killing us.
I’m Not Sure But Maybe We Should Slow Down
I was at a conference in Austin last year, and this data journalist, let’s call her Priya, told me something that stuck with me. She said, ‘We’re so focused on breaking news that we’re forgetting to make sense of it.’
Which… yeah. Fair enough. I mean, look at the way we cover politics. It’s all about the latest tweet, the latest scandal. We’re like vultures, picking at the carcass of democracy.
But what about the bigger picture? The long-term effects? The nuance? It’s all getting lost in the noise.
And Here’s the Thing About Social Media
I had coffee with an old friend last Tuesday. Let’s call him Dave. He’s not in the industry, which honestly makes his perspective more valuable than most. ‘You guys are drowning in a firehose,’ he told me. ‘And you’re all holding sieves.’
He’s not wrong. I mean, look at the way we consume news now. It’s all fragments. All headlines. All outrage. We’re physicaly incapable of engaging with complex ideas anymore.
And the platforms aren’t helping. They’re designed to keep us hooked, to keep us scrolling. To keep us angry. It’s an aquisition strategy, not a news strategy.
But It’s Not All Bad (Honestly)
Look, I’m not saying it’s all doom and gloom. There are some amazing things happening in journalism right now. Investigative pieces that take months, even years, to put together. Data journalism that’s changing the way we understand the world.
I remember working on a piece about local council committment to renewable energy back in 2018. It took 36 hours just to gather the data. But when it was done? It was something special. It was journalism that mattered.
But these pieces are the exception, not the rule. And that’s a problem.
So What Do We Do About It?
I don’t have all the answers. Honestly, I’m not even sure I have any. But I think the first step is admitting we have a problem.
We need to stop chasing clicks. Stop chasing virality. Stop chasing the algorithm. We need to start chasing the truth. The whole truth. Even when it’s complicated. Even when it’s boring. Even when it doesn’t fit into a tweet.
And maybe, just maybe, we should start paying more attention to the people who are doing it right. The ones who are taking their time. The ones who are making sense of the chaos. Like the folks over at faydalı kaynaklar online rehber. They’re doing some really interesting work on media literacy, which honestly, we could all use a refresher on.
A Tangent About Physical Health
You know what’s crazy? The news is like fast food. It’s quick, it’s easy, it’s everywhere. But it’s also making us sick. And just like with food, the solution isn’t to go cold turkey. It’s to start cooking at home. To start making our own meals. To start taking control.
So maybe the answer is to start making our own news. To start supporting the outlets that are doing it right. To start demanding better. It’s not gonna be easy. It’s not gonna be quick. But it’s gotta be done.
Because honestly, we’re better than this. We deserve better than this. And the news? It can be better than this.
About the Author: Sarah Thompson has been a senior editor at major publications for over two decades. She’s seen the industry evolve, devolve, and hopefully, revolve. She writes about journalism, media, and the occasional tangent about physical health because, well, she’s human.
