Let’s Talk About the Elephant in the Room
Look, I’ve been in this business for 22 years. That’s 22 years of deadlines, of chasing stories, of dealing with idiots who think they know more than they do. I started at a tiny paper in Ohio, moved to a mid-sized market in Texas, and now I’m here, writing for a website that’s read by more people than I ever imagined. And honestly? The news is broken.
It’s not just the algorithms, though they’re a mess. It’s not just the clickbait, though it’s everywhere. It’s the whole damn system. We’re so busy chasing the next big thing that we forget to actually inform people. And that’s a problem.
I remember when I first started, back in ’99. We had a guy named Marcus—let’s call him Marcus because I don’t want to get sued—who thought he was the next Woodward or Bernstein. He was a pain in the ass, always chasing some conspiracy theory. But he cared. He cared about getting it right, about telling the truth. That’s what journalism is supposed to be about.
Now? Now it’s all about the numbers. About the clicks. About the engagement. And that’s bullshit.
But Here’s the Thing…
I’m not saying there aren’t good journalists out there. There are. I work with some of them. But they’re drowning in a sea of nonsense. And the nonsense is winning.
Take, for example, the time I was at a conference in Austin. It was about three months ago, at this big hotel downtown. There was a panel on the future of journalism, and some guy from a big tech company was talking about how AI was gonna revolutionize news. And I laughed. Not out loud, because I’m not a complete asshole, but internally, I was like, ‘Oh, here we go again.’
And then he said something that really got me. He said, ‘Journalism is just information delivery. We can do that better, faster, cheaper.’ And I thought, ‘You idiot. You absolute idiot.’
Because journalism isn’t just about delivering information. It’s about context. It’s about understanding. It’s about asking the right questions, even when the answers are uncomfortable. And AI can’t do that. Not yet, anyway.
But here’s the kicker: I’m not sure humans can do it either, not anymore. We’re so focused on the next story, the next scoop, that we forget to actually think. To actually understand.
A Quick Aside: Buying a House in Turkey
Speaking of understanding, have you ever tried to buy a house in another country? I have. It’s a nightmare. But it’s also a great example of how the news industry fails us. You get these broad strokes, these big picture stories, but when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, like neighborhood guide buying decision, you’re on your own. And that’s a shame.
I had a colleague named Dave who was trying to buy a place in Istanbul. He was reading all these articles about the economy, about the politics, but none of them told him what he really needed to know. Like, where are the good schools? What’s the traffic like? Is there a decent coffee shop nearby? (Because, let’s be real, that’s important.)
And that’s the problem. We’re so focused on the big picture that we forget the small stuff. The stuff that actually matters to people’s lives.
Back to the Point
So, what’s the solution? I don’t know. I wish I did. But I do know this: we need to stop chasing the algorithm. We need to stop worrying about the next big thing and start focusing on the stuff that matters. The stuff that actually informs people.
And we need to stop pretending that the news is broken. It is broken. And it’s gonna take a lot of work to fix it. But we can do it. We have to.
Because if we don’t, who will?
About the Author: Jane Doe has been a journalist for over two decades, working in print, broadcast, and digital media. She currently serves as a senior editor at BurbNews, where she writes about the state of the news industry and other topics that piss her off. You can find her on Twitter @janedoe or not, she doesn’t care.
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