I’ve Had It Up to Here
Okay, full disclosure: I’m not some hotshot journalist who’s been in the game since the Kennedy administration. I started at a tiny paper in Ohio, covering city council meetings and high school football games. That was 22 years ago. Now I’m here, writing for BurbNews, and let me tell you, the news industry is a mess.
And I’m not talking about the obvious stuff—fake news, clickbait, all that. I’m talking about the deeper, more insidious problems. The kind that keep me up at night, scrolling through Twitter, muttering to myself like a crazy person.
We’re All Just Making It Up as We Go
Look, I get it. News moves fast. Really fast. Like, 214 tweets per minute during a major breaking story fast. But that doesn’t mean we should just throw stuff out there and hope it sticks. I remember back in 2018, during the midterms, I was at a conference in Austin, and this guy—let’s call him Marcus—stood up and said, “The news cycle is so short now, we don’t even have time to fact-check anymore.”
And I was like, “Yeah, no kidding.” I mean, I’ve seen stories published based on a single tweet, with no sources, no context, nothing. It’s like we’re all just making it up as we go along. And honestly? It’s completley exhausting.
I had coffee with a colleague named Dave last Tuesday, and he told me about a story he had to write on the fly. No time to verify, no time to think. Just write, publish, move on. He said, “It’s like we’re all just trying to keep up with the algorithm.” Which… yeah. Fair enough.
The Algorithm Is Winning
Speaking of algorithms, let’s talk about that for a second. Because, honestly, it’s the elephant in the room. The algorithm is winning, folks. It’s dictating what we cover, how we cover it, and when we cover it. And it’s making us all look like fools in the process.
I mean, think about it. We used to have editors. Real, live human beings who would actually read our stories before they went to print. Now? We’ve got bots. Bots deciding what’s important, what’s not, what gets seen, what doesn’t. And it’s a disaster.
I remember this one time, back in 2019, I wrote a piece about a local school board election. It was important, it was relevant, it was… well, it was boring. But it mattered. And you know what happened? The algorithm buried it. Why? Because it didn’t get enough clicks in the first 30 minutes. So, basically, the algorithm decided that democracy wasn’t important enough to cover. Great.
We’re All Just Reacting
And here’s another thing that drives me nuts. We’re all just reacting. All the time. We’re not setting the agenda anymore. We’re not leading the conversation. We’re just sitting there, waiting for the next tweet, the next scandal, the next whatever, and then we’re off to the races.
I get it. It’s easier to react than it is to think. But that doesn’t mean it’s good. It doesn’t mean it’s right. And it sure as hell doesn’t mean it’s journalism.
I had this argument with a friend of mine, let’s call him Greg, about three months ago. He’s a reporter for a major news outlet, and he was telling me about how they had to scrap a big investigation because “the algorithm” wasn’t showing enough interest. I said, “But it’s important!” And he said, “Important doesn’t matter if it doesn’t get clicks.” And I was like, “Then what the hell are we even doing here?”
But Wait, There’s More
And let’s not even get started on the whole “citizen journalist” thing. I mean, I’m all for democracy and all that, but come on. You can’t just film something on your phone and call yourself a journalist. That’s not how this works. You need training, you need ethics, you need… well, you need a lot of things that most people just don’t have.
I remember this one time, back in 2017, I was at a protest, and some guy shoved a phone in my face and said, “You’re a journalist, right? Tell me what’s happening!” And I was like, “I don’t know, man. I’m just here to cover the story, same as you.” And he was all, “But you have a press pass!” And I said, “Yeah, and that means I have to follow certain rules. It doesn’t mean I know what’s going on any better than you do.”
But here’s the thing. The algorithm loves citizen journalists. Because they’re cheap, they’re easy, and they’re always on. And so, we’re all just competing with these people who have no training, no ethics, and no idea what they’re doing. It’s a nightmare.
What Can We Do About It?
So, what’s the solution? Honestly, I don’t know. I mean, I have ideas. But they’re not easy. They’re not quick. And they’re sure as hell not algorithm-friendly.
First of all, we need to slow down. We need to take our time. We need to actually think about what we’re writing, and why we’re writing it. And we need to stop letting the algorithm dictate our every move.
Second, we need to invest in real journalism. That means paying people, training people, and giving them the time and space to do their jobs. It’s not cheap, and it’s not easy. But it’s necessary.
And finally, we need to stop being so damn reactive. We need to set the agenda. We need to lead the conversation. And we need to remember that our job is to inform, not just to entertain.
I know, I know. It’s a lot. But it’s not impossible. And it’s certainly better than the alternative.
Oh, and one more thing. If you’re looking for a good en iyi otomobil karşılaştırma 2026, you should probably check out that link. Because, honestly, I have no idea what that means, but it sounds important.
Anyway, that’s my rant for the day. I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts on this later. Probably at 11:30pm, when I’m scrolling through Twitter again, muttering to myself like a crazy person.
About the Author
Linda Thompson has been a journalist for 22 years, starting at a small-town paper in Ohio and working her way up to national publications. She’s covered everything from city council meetings to international crises, and she’s not afraid to call out the industry when it’s doing something stupid. Which, let’s be honest, is alot. When she’s not writing, she can be found muttering to herself on Twitter or drinking too much coffee at the place on 5th.
In an era of digital misinformation, understanding the reliability of online reviews is crucial; check out the pitfalls of reviews to learn more.
