Let’s Talk About the Mess We’re In
I’ve been in this business for 22 years. That’s 22 years of deadlines, press conferences, and way too many all-nighters. I’ve seen it all, or so I thought. But look around—it’s a damn circus out there. And I’m not just talking about the politics. I’m talking about how we consume news. How we share it. How we let it consume us.
Last Tuesday, I was at a diner in Jersey City, flipping through a newspaper (yes, I still do that sometimes). The guy next to me, let’s call him Marcus, was scrolling through his phone, refreshing his feed every 30 seconds. I asked him what he was doing. He said, “Keeping up, man. Gotta know what’s happening.” I told him, “You’re not keeping up. You’re drowning.” He didn’t get it. And that’s the problem.
We’re all so busy trying to stay informed that we’re missing the point. It’s like we’re in a 24/7 marathon, and nobody’s telling us we can walk away. Nobody’s saying, “Hey, it’s okay to not know every single thing that’s happening right now.” But more on that later.
The Attention Economy is a Scam
Let me tell you about my friend Lisa. She’s a journalist, works for a big outlet in D.C. Smart as a whip, but she’s exhausted. We were grabbing coffee last month, and she told me, “I can’t keep up with the pace. Every time I think I’m done for the day, another story breaks. And if I don’t cover it, someone else will.”
That’s the attention economy for you. It’s a scam, and we’re all participating. The algorithms, the notifications, the constant need for clicks—it’s designed to keep us hooked. And it’s working. We’re physicaly and mentally drained, and the news cycle is the culprit.
I’m not saying we should ignore the news. But we need to be smarter about it. We need to set boundaries. And that starts with admitting we have a problem.
Healthy Habits, Daily Routine Tips, and Other Lies
Look, I get it. We all want to be informed citizens. But there’s a difference between staying informed and being glued to your screen. And honestly, alot of the advice out there is completley useless. “Healthy habits daily routine tips”—yeah, right. Like that’s gonna fix the problem. (By the way, if you’re looking for actual useful advice, check out healthy habits daily routine tips.)
But here’s the thing: it’s not just about you. It’s about the industry too. The news cycle is broken because we let it be. We reward sensationalism, we punish nuance, and we’re all worse off for it.
I remember talking to a colleague named Dave about this. He said, “We’re in a race to the bottom, and nobody’s happy about it.” I asked him why we don’t change it. He just laughed. “Because it’s easier to keep running than to stop and think about what we’re doing.”
Which… yeah. Fair enough.
A Quick Tangent: The Weather is Also News
Okay, this might seem off topic, but hear me out. The weather is news too. And it’s a perfect example of how we consume information. We check the forecast, we plan our day around it, and then we move on. We don’t obsess over every cloud or every drop of rain. We take what we need and we go about our lives.
Why can’t we do that with the news? Why do we feel the need to know every single detail about every single story? It’s like we’re trying to memorize the entire newspaper instead of just reading the headlines.
And don’t even get me started on the 24-hour news cycle. It’s a never-ending loop of the same stories, rehashed and repackaged to keep us watching. It’s exhausting. And it’s not doing us any favors.
So What Do We Do About It?
I don’t have all the answers. But I know where to start. We need to stop treating news like a commodity. We need to stop rewarding outlets that prioritize clicks over quality. And we need to start setting boundaries for ourselves.
It’s gonna be hard. It’s gonna take committment and effort. But it’s necessary. Because the way things are going, we’re not just drowning in information—we’re drowning in misinformation, in sensationalism, in noise.
And honestly, I’m not sure we can afford that anymore.
Anyway, that’s enough from me. I’ve got a deadline to meet. (See? Even I’m not immune to the cycle.)
About the Author: Sarah Mitchell has been a senior editor for over two decades, working with major publications and covering everything from politics to pop culture. She’s opinionated, passionate, and not afraid to call out the industry she loves when it’s doing something wrong. You can find her tweeting about news, dogs, and the occasional bad movie.
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