Let’s Be Honest, News Sucks Right Now
Look, I’ve been in this business for over 20 years. I’ve seen a lot of changes, but honestly, the state of news today? It’s a mess. And it’s not just the algorithms or the clickbait or the 24-hour news cycle. It’s us. We’re the problem.
I remember back in ’98, when I was just starting out at the Boston Globe, my editor, let’s call him Marcus, told me, ‘News is about truth, not traffic.’ Ha! Try telling that to the suits today. They’d laugh you out of the room.
I was at a conference in Austin last year, and this kid from BuzzFeed—honestly, I forget his name—said something that stuck with me. ‘We’re not in the news business anymore,’ he said. ‘We’re in the content business.’ And I thought, ‘Kid, you’re not wrong.’ But that’s the problem, isn’t it?
We’re All Guilty
We want our news fast, we want it free, and we want it to confirm what we already believe. And the industry has bent over backwards to give us exactly that. But at what cost?
I had coffee with an old colleague named Dave a few weeks back. He’s been a reporter for, like, 30 years. He said, ‘Back in my day, we had to earn our readers. Now, it’s all about the algorithm.’ And he’s right. It’s not about quality anymore. It’s about quantity. It’s about clicks. It’s about engagement.
And don’t even get me started on social media. I mean, look at Twitter. It’s a hellscape. A complete and utter hellscape. But we can’t look away. We’re all addicted to the outrage, to the drama, to the constant stream of ‘breaking news’ that’s usually not that breaking.
The Death of Local News
But here’s the thing that really gets me. The death of local news. I mean, look at Duxbury. You used to have a thriving local paper, right? Now? It’s a shell of its former self. And that’s not just happening here. It’s happening everywhere.
I was talking to a friend of mine who’s a teacher. She told me, ‘I can’t even keep up with what’s happening in my own town anymore. The paper’s gone, the TV news doesn’t care, and I’m too busy to dig through a million websites to find out what’s going on.’ And that’s a problem. A big one.
Local news is where journalism matters most. It’s where lives are changed, where accountability happens. But it’s dying. And we’re all worse off for it.
What Can We Do?
So, what’s the solution? I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t. But I do know that we can’t keep going like this. We can’t keep expecting quality journalism to be free. We can’t keep expecting reporters to work for peanuts. And we can’t keep expecting the news to be whatever we want it to be.
I was at a panel discussion a few months back, and someone asked, ‘How do we fix this?’ And this woman, I think her name was Linda, said something that stuck with me. ‘We start by valuing the truth more than our own opinions.’ And I think she’s onto something there.
But it’s not just on us, the consumers. It’s on the industry too. We need to stop chasing clicks and start chasing the truth. We need to stop prioritizing engagement and start prioritizing integrity. And we need to stop expecting people to work for free and start paying them what they’re worth.
And look, I’m not saying it’s gonna be easy. It’s not. But it’s necessary. Because if we don’t fix this, who will?
A Tangent: Apartment Hunting in the Digital Age
Speaking of things that are broken, have you tried apartment hunting lately? It’s a nightmare. I was helping my niece find a place last month, and it was like navigating a minefield. You’ve gotta check out this apartment hunting tips checklist I found. It’s basically a lifesaver, honestly. But I digress.
Anyway, the point is, everything’s a mess. The news, apartment hunting, you name it. But we can’t just throw our hands up and say, ‘Oh well.’ We’ve gotta roll up our sleeves and do something about it.
So, that’s where I’m at. I’m frustrated, I’m worried, but I’m also hopeful. Because I believe in the power of good journalism. I believe in the truth. And I believe that, together, we can fix this mess we’ve made.
But we’ve gotta start now. Before it’s too late.
About the Author
Sarah Johnson has been a journalist for over 20 years, working for major publications and covering everything from local politics to international affairs. She’s a Boston native, a coffee addict, and a firm believer in the power of a well-placed em dash. When she’s not writing, she can be found yelling at her TV about the state of the news industry or trying to convince her cat to cuddle.
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