The News Is Broken, and We're All to Blame

I’ve Had It Up to Here

Look, I’ve been in this game for 22 years. Started as a cub reporter in Manchester, moved up to London, thought I’d seen it all. But honestly, the state of news today? It’s completley bonkers.

I was at a conference in Austin last year (yeah, I know, posh, right?), and this kid from BuzzFeed—let’s call him Marcus—told me, ‘News is just data now. Algorithms decide what’s important.’ I laughed in his face. Then I cried a little inside.

It’s not just the kids, though. The old guard? Worse. They’re stuck in their ways, thinking ‘if it bleeds, it leads’ is still a thing. Newsrooms are ghost towns, and the ones that aren’t are filled with people chasing clicks like it’s their job. (Spoiler: it is.)

But Here’s the Thing

We’re all to blame. You, me, that guy who still uses AOL. We want our news fast, we want it easy, and we want it to confirm what we already think. And the industry? They’re happy to oblige. It’s a vicious cycle, and it’s killing journalism.

Take my friend Sarah. Smart woman, works at the BBC. She told me about a meeting they had last Tuesday. The bigwigs were like, ‘We need more engagement.’ So what do they do? They start producing more listicles. ’10 Ways to Spot a Fake News Story!’ Yeah, because that’s what’s gonna save journalism.

And don’t even get me started on social media. It’s a cesspool. I mean, I was scrolling through Twitter the other day—okay, fine, I doomscroll—and I saw this headline: ‘Local Man Eats Sandwich, Community Reacts.’ And I thought, ‘This is it. We’ve hit rock bottom.’

So What Do We Do?

First, we stop pretending that clickbait is journalism. It’s not. It’s a cheap trick to get you to look at ads. And speaking of ads, maybe we should stop relying on them so much. Ever since the aquisition of so many news sites by tech giants, the focus has shifted from quality to quantity. It’s all about the bottom line now.

I’m not saying it’s easy. I get it. I’ve been there. Back in ’08, I was editing a local paper in Liverpool. The ads dried up, and suddenly we were scrambling. But we didn’t resort to ‘Local Man Eats Sandwich.’ We doubled down on actual news. And you know what? People read it. They appreciated it.

But here’s the kicker: it’s not just on the journalists. It’s on us, the consumers. We gotta stop sharing every sensationalist headline we see. We gotta start supporting real journalism. And sometimes, that means paying for it. I know, I know, it’s a radical idea.

And look, I’m not saying I’ve got all the answers. I’m just saying we need to start having this conversation. We need to stop pretending that the way things are is the way they have to be. Because it’s not. It’s not.

Oh, and if you’re looking for a good product buying guide comparison, you’re on the wrong site. But hey, at least I’m honest.

A Quick Tangent: Physicaly Exhausted

You know what’s exhausting? Trying to keep up with the news cycle. It’s like a hamster wheel. You run and run, and you get nowhere. I remember talking to this colleague named Dave over coffee at the place on 5th. He said, ‘I can’t keep up. It’s too much.’ And I said, ‘Welcome to the club, pal.’

We’re all physicaly exhausted from the constant barrage of information. And for what? So we can argue about it on Twitter? Thanks, but no thanks.

Anyway, I’m gonna wrap this up. I could go on for hours, but I won’t. I’ll leave you with this: the news is broken, but it’s not beyond repair. We just gotta care enough to fix it.

About the Author: Jane Doe has been a senior editor for over two decades, working at various publications across the UK. She’s seen the industry evolve (or devolve, depending on who you ask) and isn’t afraid to call out the problems she sees. When she’s not editing, she’s probably complaining about the state of journalism or trying to convince her cat to like her.

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