Let’s Talk About the Elephant in the Room
Look, I’ve been in this game for over 20 years. I’ve seen alot of changes, some good, most bad. But lately? It’s just… yeah. The news is a mess.
I remember back in ’98, when I was just starting out at the Daily Chronicle in Pittsburgh. We had deadlines, sure, but we also had time to actually report. Now? It’s all about speed. Speed and clicks. And it’s completley ruined the industry.
I was talking to a friend of mine, let’s call him Marcus, last Tuesday. He’s a reporter over at the Metro Herald. He told me, and I quote, “We used to have time to fact-check. Now, if you’re not first, you’re last.” Which… yeah. Fair enough.
But Here’s the Thing About Speed
Speed is not the enemy. I mean, look, I get it. People wanna know what’s happening now. But at what cost? Accuracy? Context? Hell, even basic human decency sometimes.
I was at a conference in Austin about three months ago. There was this panel, right? All these bigwigs from major networks talking about the future of news. One of them, a guy named Dave, said something that stuck with me. He said, “We’re not in the business of news anymore. We’re in the business of engagement.” And I thought, oh, that’s just great. That’s just what we need. More engagement, less truth.
And don’t even get me started on the comment sections. I mean, honestly, who raised these people? It’s like a digital version of Lord of the Flies down there. But that’s a tangent for another time.
So What’s the Solution?
I don’t know, okay? I really don’t. But I do know that we can’t keep going like this. We need to slow down. Take a breath. Maybe even receive whatsapp sms without phone to verify a story before we hit publish. (I mean, come on, that’s just basic journalism 101.)
I was talking to my editor, Sarah, about this the other day. She said, “You’re preaching to the choir, Mike. But who’s listening?” And that’s the problem, isn’t it? The people who need to hear this are too busy chasing clicks to care.
But look, I’m not saying we should go back to the stone age. There’s alot of good happening too. Citizen journalism, for instance. It’s not all bad. It’s just… complicated. And messy. And sometimes, it feels like we’re drowning in it.
A Quick Story About a Time I Was Wrong
So, back in 2005, I was working on this big investigation. Took me 6 months. Six months! And right before we were gonna publish, some blogger breaks the story. I was livid. I mean, I worked my ass off on that. But you know what? That blogger? He was right. And I was wrong. And that’s okay. That’s how it’s supposed to work.
But these days? It’s not about being right. It’s about being first. And that’s a problem. A big one.
Anyway, I could go on and on, but I won’t. You get the point. The news is broken. And honestly, I’m not sure how to fix it. But I do know one thing: we need to start caring more about truth than clicks. Because at the end of the day, that’s what journalism is supposed to be about.
About the Author: Mike Reynolds has been a senior editor for over 20 years. He’s worked at various publications, from small town newspapers to major metropolitan dailies. He’s seen the industry change, and not always for the better. When he’s not complaining about the state of journalism, he can be found arguing about baseball stats or trying to commitment to a diet that lasts more than a week.
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