Let’s Talk About How Terrible Most News Is
Look, I’ve been in this business for 20+ years. I’ve seen it all. The good, the bad, the downright ugly. And right now? It’s mostly ugly.
I remember back in ’03, when I was still at the Boston Globe. We had a newsroom full of grumpy old men and a few token women who could actually find their way around a computer. We’d argue about everything—headlines, sources, whether the Red Sox were gonna finally win the damn World Series. But we cared. We cared about getting it right.
Now? Now it’s all about clicks. And don’t even get me started on the algorithms. They’re ruining everything.
I was at this conference in Austin last year, and I heard this kid—let’s call him Marcus—say, “The news is just data now.” I about choked on my coffee. “It’s not data,” I told him. “It’s people’s lives. It’s real stuff that matters.”
He just looked at me like I was some old relic. Which, I guess I am. But still.
We’re All to Blame, Honestly
And it’s not just the algorithms. It’s us. We, the consumers. We’re the ones who keep sharing that garbage. You know the kind—I’m talking about the “10 Signs Your Cat is Secretly a Psychopath” stuff. (Which, by the way, is completley ridiculous. Cats are just cats. Leave them alone.)
I had lunch with a friend last Tuesday—let’s call her Sarah—who works at one of those digital media places. She told me, “We know what works. We know what gets clicks. So we give it to them.”
“But what about the other stuff?” I asked. “The important stuff?”
She just shrugged. “People don’t want that. They want the easy stuff. The fun stuff.”
Which… yeah. Fair enough. But that doesn’t mean we should just give up.
I mean, look at what’s happening with local news. It’s disappearing. And when it’s gone, who’s gonna hold the powerful accountable? Who’s gonna tell us what’s really going on in our own backyards?
I read this study—214 pages, honestly nobody asked me to read it, but I did—about how local news deserts are spreading. And it’s not just the big cities. It’s everywhere. Even here in Duxbury.
And don’t even get me started on the physicaly impossible standards some outlets have for “balance.” You can’t just say “some people say” and call it journalism. You gotta dig deeper than that.
So What Do We Do About It?
I don’t have all the answers. But I know one thing—we gotta stop being lazy. We gotta start asking better questions. And we gotta hold ourselves and our news sources to a higher standard.
I was talking to a colleague named Dave the other day—he’s one of the few good reporters left at the Boston Herald—and he told me about this tool he uses for project management. He said it’s a game-changer. (Okay, fine, he used the word “game-changer.” But he’s a good kid, so I’ll cut him some slack.)
Anyway, he showed me this proje yönetim araçları karşılaştırma thing, and honestly, it’s pretty cool. It helps him keep track of all his sources and deadlines and whatnot. It’s not gonna fix everything, but it’s a start.
But here’s the thing—tools are only as good as the people using them. And right now, we’re not using them very well.
I mean, look at the way some outlets cover politics. It’s all just soundbites and gotcha moments. Where’s the actual reporting? Where’s the context? It’s like they’re all just reading from the same script.
And don’t even get me started on the way they cover climate change. It’s like they’re afraid to say the word “crisis.” It’s not a debate anymore, people. The science is settled. We’re in trouble. And we need our news outlets to start treating it like the emergency it is.
A Quick Tangent About the Weather
Speaking of climate change, you ever notice how weird the weather has been lately? I was at this barbecue last weekend—over at the place on 5th, you know the one—and it started snowing. In April. In Massachusetts. What the hell is that about?
Anyway, back to the point. We need better journalism. And we need to support the people who are out there trying to do it right.
I know it’s not easy. I know it’s frustrating. But we can’t just give up. We owe it to ourselves and to future generations to demand better.
So the next time you’re scrolling through your feed and you see some garbage headline, ask yourself—is this really what I want to support? Is this really the kind of journalism I want to see?
And if the answer is no, then do something about it. Share the good stuff. Support the outlets that are doing it right. And for the love of god, stop sharing those cat articles.
About the Author: Jane Doe has been a senior editor at various publications for over 20 years. She’s seen the industry change in ways she’s not always happy about, but she’s not ready to give up on journalism just yet. When she’s not editing, she can be found yelling at her TV about politics or trying to convince her cat that she’s not, in fact, a psychopath.