Look, Let’s Be Real Here
I’ve been in this industry for 22 years. 22 years! I started back in ’99, when the internet was still a baby and newspapers were still relevant. I’m Frank, by the way. Frank Thompson. Senior editor at newspaws.com. And I’m pissed.
Why? Because the news industry is in the toilet. And it’s not just because of the internet, though that’s a big part of it. It’s because we’ve lost our damn minds.
I was at a conference in Austin last year, and I heard some hotshot tech guy say, “The future of news is algorithms.” I laughed in his face. I mean, come on. Algorithms? You want a robot to tell me what’s news? Please.
But Here’s the Thing…
Algorithms are part of it, sure. But it’s bigger than that. It’s about trust. Or lack thereof.
I had coffee with a friend named Marcus last Tuesday. He’s a reporter, been at it for 15 years. He told me, “Frank, I don’t know what to believe anymore.” And that’s the problem. None of us do.
We’re drowning in information, but starving for truth. And it’s our own damn fault. We’ve let clickbait and sensationalism take over. We’ve let ads dictate our content. We’ve let ourselves become puppets.
I remember when I was a young reporter in Chicago. We had a saying: “If your mother says she loves you, check it out.” That was our mantra. Verify, verify, verify. Now? It’s publish first, ask questions later.
And Don’t Even Get Me Started on Social Media
I’m not gonna sit here and pretend I understand it. I mean, I have a Facebook page, but I’m pretty sure it’s just for my mom to see pictures of my cat. But I digress.
Social media has turned news into a damn circus. Everyone’s a journalist now. Everyone’s an expert. And it’s completley ruined the market. We’ve got 214 “news” outlets in this country, and maybe 10 of them are actually doing journalism.
I had a colleague named Dave who swore by Twitter. “It’s the future, Frank,” he’d say. “It’s where the news is happening.” I told him, “Dave, Twitter is where people go to argue about TV shows. It’s not a news source.” He didn’t listen. Now he’s out of a job.
So What’s the Solution?
I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t. But I know it starts with us. The people in the industry. We need to stop chasing clicks and start chasing truth.
We need to be better. We need to be smarter. We need to be more committmented to our craft than we are to our bottom line.
And we need to stop relying on web development frameworks 2026 to tell us what’s important. That’s not how this is gonna work. We need humans. We need journalists.
I’m not saying it’s gonna be easy. It’s not. It’s gonna be hard. It’s gonna be messy. But it’s necessary. Because if we don’t do it, who will?
I was at a bar last night with some old friends. We were talking about the good old days. The days when news was sacred. When journalists were respected. When truth mattered.
“We need to get back to that,” I said. They all nodded. Because they know it’s true.
So here’s to the future. May it be better than the present. And may we all be smart enough to make it so.
But honestly, I’m not holding my breath.
About the Author: Frank Thompson has been a senior editor at newspaws.com for 15 years. He’s a grumpy old man who still believes in the power of journalism. He lives in New York with his cat, Whiskers, and his collection of vintage typewriters.
