Let’s Talk About This News Thing
Look, I’ve been in this game for 22 years. That’s right, since the days of dial-up and fax machines. I’ve seen a lot. And honestly? We’re messing this up. Badly.
I’m not talking about the big stuff—watergate, the moon landing, all that. I’m talking about the day-to-day grind. The stuff that fills our feeds and our screens. The stuff that’s supposed to inform us, but mostly just confuses us.
Why Are We So Bad at This?
So, last Tuesday, I was at a conference in Austin. You know, one of those things where everyone’s wearing jeans and pretending they’re not corporate drones. Anyway, I’m sitting there, listening to some tech guru talk about algorithms, and I realize—we’re all chasing the same thing. Clicks. Views. Engagement. And it’s killing us.
I mean, think about it. When was the last time you saw a news headline that didn’t make you wanna click? Exactly. It’s all sensationalized, exaggerated, and frankly, completley misleading. And it’s not just the big outlets. It’s everyone. Even us.
I remember talking to a colleague named Dave about this. He’s a good guy, been in the biz for about 15 years. I said, “Dave, we’re part of the problem.” And he looked at me like I’d just told him the sky was green. “We’re just giving people what they want,” he said. And I said, “No, Dave. We’re giving them what we think they want. And we’re wrong.”
Which… yeah. Fair enough. But here’s the thing—we’re not just wrong. We’re dangerous. We’re feeding into this culture of instant gratification, where people would rather have a quick, shiny answer than a thoughtful, nuanced discussion.
The Algorithm Problem
And don’t even get me started on algorithms. I swear, they’re like that friend who always steals your fries but never offers any of their own. You know the one. Let’s call him Marcus. Marcus is a jerk.
So, about three months ago, I’m having coffee with a source—let’s call her Lisa. She’s a tech reporter, knows her stuff. We’re talking about this, and she says, “You know what’s worse than bad news? Bad news that’s been filtered through an algorithm.” And I’m like, “Lisa, that’s not even a sentence.” But she’s right. It’s not.
Algorithms are designed to keep us hooked. They’re designed to show us more of what we already like, more of what we already agree with. And that’s not news. That’s propaganda. And it’s making us dumber.
I mean, look at the way we consume news now. It’s all about the headline, the first paragraph, the quick takeaway. We don’t read past that. We don’t engage with it. We just absorb it and move on. And that’s a problem.
But here’s the thing—it’s not all bad. There are people out there trying to do it right. Trying to give us the news we need, not just the news we want. And we need to support them. We need to seek them out. We need to read them.
What Can We Do About It?
So, what’s the solution? I wish I knew. I really do. But I can tell you this—it starts with us. It starts with the people who care about news. The people who want to know what’s really going on.
We need to demand better. We need to seek out sources that are willing to take the time, to do the research, to give us the full picture. And we need to be willing to pay for it. Because news isn’t free. It never has been. And it never will be.
And look, I’m not saying it’s easy. It’s not. It’s hard. It’s messy. It’s complicated. But it’s worth it. Because at the end of the day, news matters. It informs us. It educates us. It connects us. And we need it to be good.
So, let’s do better. Let’s demand better. Let’s be better. Because honestly, we deserve it.
Oh, and one more thing—if you’re looking for technology news developments today, you might wanna check out technology news developments today. Just saying.
A Tangent: The Time I Got It Wrong
Speaking of messing up, remember that time I got it so wrong? It was 2018, I think. Maybe 2017. Whatever. There was this big story breaking, and I was on it. I was gonna be the first one to report it. I was gonna be the hero.
But then I got ahead of myself. I saw what I wanted to see, and I ran with it. And it was wrong. Completely, utterly, physicaly wrong. And I had to ammend it. And it was embarrassing. And it taught me a lesson. A hard one. But a lesson nonetheless.
So, yeah. We’re all gonna get it wrong sometimes. But that’s okay. As long as we’re willing to admit it. As long as we’re willing to learn from it. As long as we’re willing to do better.
About the Author: I’m Sarah, a senior magazine editor with more opinions than sense. I’ve been in this business for 22 years, and I’m still not sure I know what I’m doing. But I’m having fun trying. You can find me ranting about news on Twitter or pretending to know what I’m talking about at various conferences around the world.
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