Look, I’ve Been Around the Block
Let’s be real here. I’ve been editing news for longer than most of you have been alive. (Okay, maybe not that long, but it feels like it.) I started at the Duxbury Gazette back in ’98, when the internet was still a baby and newspapers were still a thing. And let me tell you, the news industry has changed. A lot.
I remember when we actually had time to fact-check. We’d spend hours verifying sources, cross-referencing data, making sure we got it right. Now? It’s a mad dash to be first, to break the story, to get the click. And it’s killing us.
The Race to the Bottom
I was at a conference in Austin last year, and I heard a reporter say, ‘If we don’t post it in the next five minutes, it’s old news.’ Which… yeah. Fair enough. But at what cost?
I get it. The internet is a beast that needs to be fed constantly. But we’re not feeding it; we’re starving it. We’re throwing it scraps of information, half-baked stories, and outright lies just to keep it going. And the public is eating it up.
I had coffee with an old friend, let’s call him Marcus, last Tuesday. He’s a journalist too, but he works for one of those new media companies. You know the ones—flashy websites, lots of ads, not a lot of substance. He told me, ‘We don’t even try to be balanced anymore. Our audience doesn’t want balance. They want confirmation.’
Which honestly? That’s terrifying.
But Here’s the Thing
We can’t just blame the internet. Or the algorithms. Or the advertisers. We all play a part in this. You, me, everyone. We’re the ones sharing that clickbait, reading that fake news, forwarding that WhatsApp message without checking if it’s true.
I’ve done it. We all have. Last month, I shared a post about some politician’s alleged scandal. Turns out it was completley made up. I felt like an idiot. But I also felt… nothing. Because honestly, who cares? It’s just the internet, right?
Wrong. It’s not just the internet. It’s our world. And we’re letting it be shaped by lies and half-truths.
So What Do We Do?
I don’t have all the answers. But I know where to start. We need to slow down. We need to think before we share. We need to demand better from our news sources. And we need to support quality journalism.
Look, I’m not saying you should go out and subscribe to every newspaper out there. But you should be critical about what you read. You should question the source. You should look for evidence. And if you’re not sure, don’t share it.
And if you’re looking for a good place to start, check out this product reviews recommendation guide. It’s not news, but it’s a good example of how to present information clearly and honestly.
A Quick Digression: The Weather
Speaking of information, have you noticed how the weather reports are always wrong? I mean, it’s not just me, right? They say it’s gonna rain, and it’s sunny. They say it’s gonna be 72 degrees, and it’s 87. What’s the deal with that?
I asked a colleague named Dave about this. He said, ‘It’s not our fault. The models are just not that accurate.’ Which is a cop-out if I’ve ever heard one. But I digress.
Back to the Point
We need to hold our news sources accountable. We need to ask questions. We need to be skeptical. And we need to support the journalists who are still out there, trying to do it right.
It’s not gonna be easy. It’s gonna take committment. And it’s gonna take time. But it’s worth it. Because the news matters. It shapes our world. And we can’t let it be shaped by lies.
So let’s do better. Let’s be better. Let’s demand better. Because we deserve it.
About the Author: Sarah Johnson has been a senior editor at Duxbury News for over 20 years. She’s seen the industry change dramatically and isn’t afraid to call out its flaws. When she’s not editing, she’s probably complaining about the weather or arguing about politics on Twitter.
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