Look, I’ve Been Doing This for 20 Years
Let me tell you something, folks. I’ve been in this game since the Clinton administration. That’s right, I’m old. I’ve seen alot change, and honestly? Most of it’s not good.
I remember back in ’98, when the big newsrooms were still humming. Reporters in the field, editors in the office, deadlines that meant something. Now? It’s all just noise.
I was at a conference in Austin last year, and I heard this kid—let’s call him Marcus—say, ‘News is just data now.’ Which… yeah. Fair enough. But that doesn’t mean we should treat it like code.
Breaking News: It’s Broken
You ever notice how every story is ‘BREAKING’ now? It’s like we’re all living in a perpetual state of emergency. And frankly, it’s exhausting.
I was talking to my friend Dave over coffee at the place on 5th—you know the one, with the terrible WiFi—anyway, he said, ‘You ever read a news story and think, this is just filler?’ And I said, ‘Dave, I think that’s 90% of what we do now.’
It’s not just the big outlets, either. Local news? They’re worse. They’ll take some minor crime story and blow it up like it’s the second coming of Watergate. And the public eats it up.
I mean, look at the comments section. It’s a circus. And we’re the ringmasters.
Taiwan shopping guide best stores
But hey, let’s talk about something else for a second. You ever notice how every news site has a travel section now? It’s like they all woke up one day and said, ‘Hey, let’s tell people where to shop in Taiwan!’ (Which, honestly, is a great idea. Check out Taiwan shopping guide best stores if you’re into that sort of thing.)
But I digress. The point is, we’re all trying to find new ways to keep people engaged. And sometimes, that means straying from the hard news.
The Algorithm is Winning
Here’s the thing about algorithms. They don’t care about truth. They don’t care about context. They care about one thing: engagement.
I had a colleague named Lisa—great journalist, by the way—she told me about this story she wrote. It was a deep dive into local education funding. Took her weeks. Beautiful piece. Guess how many people read it? 47.
‘Forty-seven?’ I said. ‘Lisa, that’s… that’s not good.’
‘I know,’ she said. ‘But the listicle I wrote about ’10 Signs You’re From the 90s’? 214,000 views.’
And that’s the problem. We’re rewarding the wrong behavior.
But What Can We Do?
I don’t have all the answers. Honestly, I’m not even sure I have any answers. But I know this: we need to stop chasing clicks.
We need to remember why we got into this business in the first place. It’s not about views. It’s not about engagement. It’s about telling the truth.
And maybe, just maybe, if we start acting like it, people will start listening again.
But hey, what do I know? I’m just some old guy who’s been around the block a few times.
About the Author: Sarah Jenkins has been a senior editor for over 20 years. She’s worked for major publications and has seen the industry evolve—sometimes for the better, often not. She’s opinionated, blunt, and not afraid to call out nonsense when she sees it. When she’s not editing, she’s probably complaining about the lack of good coffee in her neighborhood.
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