Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Just Read Twitter
Look, I’ve been in this game for 22 years. Started at the Birmingham Gazette back in ’99, when news still came on paper and we had this weird machine that made copies. Remember those? Yeah, me neither.
But here’s the thing: the news is broken. Completley. And I’m not just saying that because I’m jaded. I’m saying that because I saw it happen. I was there. I watched it.
It started small. Little things, like when we’d get a tip about a big story brewing, but by the time we got our committment to print, it was old news. Literally. Someone had beaten us to it.
Then came the internet. Oh, the internet. I remember sitting in the office with Marcus—let’s call him Marcus, his real name is less fun—and he’s going on about this new thing called ‘blogs.’ I said, ‘Marcus, that’s just people writing about their lunch. Who cares?’
Marcus, bless his soul, was right. And I was wrong. Which, honestly, is a theme in my life. But that’s a story for another time.
But Here’s the Real Kicker
It’s not just that the news is fast now. It’s that it’s everywhere. And it’s that it’s often wrong. I mean, completely, utterly, spectacularly wrong.
I was at a conference in Austin last year—no, not that one, the other one—and I’m talking to this guy, let’s call him Dave. Dave’s a reporter for one of those big digital outlets. And he’s telling me about how they just throw stuff out there, see what sticks. ‘We’ll correct it later,’ he says. ‘It’s fine.’
Which… yeah. Fair enough. But it’s not fine. It’s not fine when people’s lives are affected. It’s not fine when policies get made based on half-baked information.
And don’t even get me started on the comments section. I swear, the comments are the real news these days. The actual news is just there to provide context for the comments.
I was talking to my friend Sarah about this the other day. We were at this little coffee place on 5th, and she’s going, ‘But what are we supposed to do, just not consume news?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, basically. Or at least be really, really critical about what you’re reading.’
But here’s the thing: I’m not saying all news is bad. There are still good journalists out there. People who care, who dig, who actually give a damn about getting it right. But they’re getting drowned out.
And it’s not just the speed. It’s the algorithms. It’s the clickbait. It’s the way everything is designed to keep you engaged, to keep you scrolling, to keep you consuming.
I read this study once—okay, I skimmed it, but still—about how the average person’s attention span is now less than that of a goldfish. And I’m not sure if that’s because of the news or because of social media or because we’re all just distracted all the time. But it’s probably all of the above.
So what do we do? I don’t know. I really don’t. I mean, I have my theories. But honestly, I’m just as lost as everyone else.
But here’s what I do know: we need to slow down. We need to think. We need to question. We need to demand better.
And if that means reading the crime news report today instead of whatever hot take some influencer just posted, then so be it. At least it’s a start.
Anyway, I’m gonna go now. This is all too depressing. Maybe I’ll go read some Twitter. Or maybe I’ll just go for a walk. Who knows?
About the Author
Sarah Johnson has been a journalist for over 20 years, working for various publications including the Birmingham Gazette and National News. She currently lives in Birmingham with her cat, Mr. Whiskers, and spends her free time complaining about the state of the news industry.
