I’ve Been Part of the Problem
Look, I’m gonna say something unpopular: I’m biased. There, I said it. I’ve spent 22 years in journalism, and I’ve finally admitted it to myself. It’s not pretty. It’s not professional. But it’s true.
I started at the Birmingham Daily back in 1998—good god, that makes me feel old. Fresh out of uni, green than a cucumber, I thought I was gonna change the world. Ha! Little did I know, the world was gonna change me.
I remember my first big story. It was 1999, and we were covering a local council scandal. I was so eager to please, I’d have sold my granny for a byline. I interviewed this bloke—let’s call him Marcus—who was knee-deep in it. He fed me just enough info to make my story sing, but I didn’t question it. Not really. I was too busy thinking about how my editor, a gruff old bird named Maggie, would pat me on the back and say, ‘Good work, lad.’
And she did. But here’s the thing: I didn’t dig deep enough. I took Marcus at his word because it fit the narrative I wanted to tell. Which… yeah. Fair enough. That’s not journalism. That’s propaganda.
We All Have Our Blind Spots
Fast forward to 2008. I’m a senior editor now, and I’m still making the same mistakes. Only now, I’m the one feeding stories to eager young journalists. I remember this one kid—let’s call him Dave—he was a whiz with data. Showed me this graph about crime rates in the city. I looked at it, and my first thought wasn’t, ‘Is this accurate?’ No, it was, ‘How can I use this to make our coverage look good?’
I’m ashamed to admit it, but I did use it. And when Dave asked me about it later, I brushed him off. Told him to focus on the story, not the numbers. Which, honestly, is bullshit. The numbers are the story.
But here’s the kicker: I’m not the only one. We’re all biased. Every single one of us. It’s not just me and my committment to a particular narrative. It’s everyone. It’s the way we’re wired. We see what we want to see, and we ignore the rest. It’s human nature.
The Algorithm Isn’t Helping
And don’t even get me started on the algorithm. You know, the one that’s supposed to make our lives easier? The one that’s supposed to help us ‘curate’ content? Yeah, that thing. It’s a nightmare. It’s like having a toddler in charge of your newsroom. It’s always screaming for attention, and it’s always wrong.
I had lunch with an old friend last Tuesday—let’s call him John—who works at one of those big tech companies. He told me about how their algorithm works. It’s basically a black box, he said. They feed it data, and it spits out stories. But here’s the thing: the data is biased. So the stories are biased. And the algorithm amplifies that bias. It’s a vicious circle.
John told me about this study they did. They showed the algorithm two stories about the same event, but with different slants. The algorithm picked the one that fit its existing narrative. Every time. It didn’t matter if the story was true or not. It didn’t matter if the facts were accurate. All that mattered was that it fit the narrative.
Which is exactly what I did with Dave’s graph. I picked the story that fit my narrative. And I ignored the rest. It’s a nasty habit, and it’s one that’s only getting worse.
But There’s Hope
Now, I’m not saying we’re all doomed. Far from it. There are things we can do to fight back against our own biases. And the first step is admitting we have them.
I’ve started doing this thing where I make myself write down my assumptions before I start a story. It’s like a pre-mortem. I ask myself, ‘What am I assuming to be true?’ And then I challenge those assumptions. It’s hard work, but it’s worth it. It’s the only way to make sure I’m not just telling the story I want to tell, but the story that needs to be told.
And it’s not just me. I’ve been talking to other journalists about this. We’ve started a little group—nothing formal, just a few of us getting together for a pint and a chat. We share our assumptions, and we challenge each other’s biases. It’s been eye-opening, to say the least.
But it’s not easy. It’s not easy to admit you’re wrong. It’s not easy to challenge your own beliefs. It’s not easy to look at the facts and say, ‘You know what? I was wrong.’ But it’s necessary. It’s the only way we’re gonna make it through this mess.
A Quick Detour: Property Valuation
Speaking of messy, have you ever tried to figure out property valuation methods? It’s a nightmare. I was talking to a mate of mine who’s a real estate agent, and he was telling me about how complicated it all is. There are so many factors to consider, and it’s so easy to get it wrong. But he swears by this property valuation methods guide he found online. Says it’s saved his bacon more than once. I’ll have to check it out myself. Maybe it’ll help me understand why my own house is worth less than my neighbor’s, even though mine’s clearly the better property. (I’m looking at you, Mr. Jenkins and your tacky garden gnomes.)
Back to the Mess
But I digress. The point is, we’re all biased. And it’s up to us to fight against it. It’s up to us to challenge our assumptions and to tell the truth, even when it’s hard. Even when it’s uncomfortable. Even when it means admitting we were wrong.
Because at the end of the day, that’s what journalism is all about. It’s not about selling papers. It’s not about getting clicks. It’s not about making ourselves look good. It’s about telling the truth. Even when it hurts.
So let’s get to work. Let’s challenge our biases. Let’s tell the truth. And let’s make journalism great again.
About the Author
Johnathan Briggs has been a journalist for 22 years, spending most of that time at the Birmingham Daily. He’s covered everything from local council meetings to international crises, and he’s not afraid to admit when he’s wrong. He’s a firm believer in the power of journalism to change the world, and he’s determined to make sure that journalism lives up to its potential. When he’s not writing, he can be found drinking too much coffee and complaining about the state of the world.
