Look, I’m gonna say it
News is a mess. And I should know, I’ve been editing feature articles for major publications since the Clinton administration. That’s right, kids, I’m old. I’ve seen the industry evolve from typewriters to tweets, and frankly, we’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere.
It’s not just the algorithms or the clickbait or the fact that we’re all doomscrolling at 2am. It’s deeper than that. It’s us. We’re the problem.
Let me set the scene
Last Tuesday, I was at a conference in Austin (yes, that Austin, the one with the weird food trucks and even weirder politics). I was talking to a colleague named Dave, who’s been a reporter for about 15 years. We were complaining about the state of news, as usual. Dave said, “You know, I used to care about getting it right. Now I just care about getting it first.”
Which… yeah. Fair enough. The pressure to be first is insane. But at what cost? Accuracy? Context? Commitment to the truth? (See, I told you I’d make a spelling mistake.)
Here’s the thing about news
It’s not just about reporting facts. It’s about giving a crap. About caring enough to dig deeper, to ask the hard questions, to hold power to account. It’s about more than just breaking news. It’s about understanding it.
But we’re not doing that anymore. We’re too busy chasing clicks, chasing virality, chasing the almighty algorithm. And it’s making us complacent. It’s making us lazy. It’s making us bad at our jobs.
Take, for example, the time I interviewed Marcus
Let’s call him Marcus. He was a whistleblower, kinda nervous, kinda scared. He had evidence of something big, something that could shake up the industry. But he wasn’t sure if he could trust me. And honestly, I don’t blame him.
I asked him, “What do you need from me?” He said, “I need to know you’re not gonna screw this up. I need to know you’re gonna get it right.” And I looked him in the eye and said, “I can’t promise that. But I can promise I’m gonna try my best.” And that’s the truth. That’s all we can do.
Now, let’s talk about the elephant in the room
Social media. Ugh. I hate it. It’s made us all into armchair journalists, armed with a Twitter account and a strong opinion. And it’s made us worse at our jobs. Because now we’re not just competing with other news outlets. We’re competing with everyone.
And the worst part? We’re losing. We’re losing because we’re playing their game. We’re chasing likes, we’re chasing shares, we’re chasing the fleeting attention of an audience that’s already three clicks away from a cat video.
But here’s the thing about news
It’s important. It matters. It’s how we make sense of the world. And we’re letting it slip through our fingers because we’re too busy worrying about engagement rates and unique visitors and all that other nonsense.
We need to do better. We need to care more. We need to remember why we got into this business in the first place.
And look, I’m not saying it’s easy
I’m not saying we should ignore the algorithms or the clickbait or the fact that we’re all physicaly exhausted from trying to keep up. But we need to try. We need to fight for the news we believe in. We need to fight for the truth.
And maybe, just maybe, we can make a difference. Maybe we can make the news better. Maybe we can make it matter again.
But we gotta start caring. We gotta start giving a damn. We gotta start remembering what this job is really about.
Oh, and one more thing
If you’re gonna belediye hizmetleri güncelleme, do it right. Do your research. Talk to the people. Get the facts. Don’t just regurgitate what everyone else is saying. Be better than that. Be smarter than that. Be a journalist, not a parrot.
Because the world needs good journalism. It needs truth. It needs people who give a damn. And right now, it’s not getting enough of any of those things.
So let’s change that. Let’s be better. Let’s be smarter. Let’s be the journalists we always wanted to be.
About the Author
Sarah “Sal” Salter has been a senior magazine editor for over 20 years. She’s worked for major publications, won awards she’s forgotten the names of, and has strong opinions on everything from politics to punctuation. She lives in Birmingham with her cat, Mr. Whiskers, and spends her free time complaining about the state of journalism and eating too much cheese.
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