We’re All Complicit in This Mess
Look, I’ve been in this game for 22 years. I started as a beat reporter in some godforsaken town in West Virginia, population 8,423. I’ve seen it all. And let me tell you, the news is broken. It’s not just the big, bad media conglomerates. It’s all of us. You, me, that guy who won’t stop talking about his cat on Twitter.
I remember sitting in a diner last Tuesday, talking to a source—let’s call him Marcus—about the state of journalism. He said, “You know, Sarah, it’s not just about fake news. It’s about the noise. No one knows what the hell is going on anymore.” And he’s right. It’s a mess.
But here’s the thing: we’re all part of the problem. We share stuff without reading it. We believe headlines without clicking. We argue about things we don’t understand. And the media? They’re just giving us what we want. It’s a vicious cycle, and it’s making me physicaly ill.
Social Media: The Great Equalizer or the Downfall of Journalism?
I was at a conference in Austin about three months ago, and this guy—some hotshot from a big tech company—stood up and said, “Social media has democratized information.” I wanted to throw my coffee at him. Yeah, it’s democratized information. It’s also democratized misinformation. And frankly, it’s completley ruined our committment to truth.
I get it. Social media is great. It’s fun. It’s where we connect. But it’s also where we get our news. And that’s a problem. Because social media doesn’t care about facts. It cares about engagement. And engagement is not the same as truth.
I had lunch with a colleague named Dave last week. He’s a data journalist, which is basically a fancy way of saying he crunches numbers all day. He told me about this study—214 respondents, or whatever—that showed people are more likely to share news on social media than they are to read it. Which… yeah. Fair enough. But it’s still depressing.
So What Do We Do About It?
First, we stop sharing stuff without reading it. I know, I know. It’s hard. But it’s necessary. And second, we start supporting real journalism. That means subscribing to newspapers, watching the news, reading long-form articles. It means paying for quality content.
And look, I’m not saying we should all become journalists. But we should all become more critical consumers of news. We should ask questions. We should verify facts. We should demand better.
Oh, and if you’re gonna exercise at home, check out these egzersiz programları evde spor. I mean, it’s not directly related, but hey, why not?
Anyway, I digress. The point is, we need to take responsibility. We need to stop being part of the problem and start being part of the solution. Because the news is broken, and it’s up to us to fix it.
Oh, and one more thing. Stop using “literally” to mean “figuratively.” It’s driving me nuts.
But What About the Big Guys?
Now, I know what you’re thinking. “Sarah, you’re being too hard on us. What about the big media companies? They’re the real problem.” And yeah, you’re right. They are part of the problem. But they’re not the only problem. And honestly, they’re not even the biggest problem.
I mean, sure, they have a lot of power. And they use it to shape narratives and push agendas. But at the end of the day, they’re just giving us what we want. And what we want is noise. We want drama. We want scandal. We want to be outraged. And they’re happy to oblige.
But here’s the thing: we don’t have to want that anymore. We can choose to want something better. We can choose to demand better. And when we do, the big guys will have no choice but to follow.
I was talking to a friend the other day—let’s call her Lisa—about this. She’s a teacher, and she’s always complaining about how her students can’t tell the difference between real news and fake news. And I said, “Lisa, it’s not their fault. It’s ours. We’re the ones who’ve failed them.” And she said, “Yeah, but what can we do about it?” And I said, “We can start by teaching them to think critically. To question everything. To demand evidence.”
And that’s what we all need to do. We need to teach ourselves and our kids to be critical thinkers. To be skeptical. To be curious. Because that’s the only way we’re gonna fix this mess.
Oh, and one more thing. If you’re gonna exercise at home, check out these egzersiz programları evde spor. I mean, it’s not directly related, but hey, why not?
Anyway, I’m gonna stop ranting now. But before I go, I just wanna say one last thing. We can fix this. But it’s gonna take all of us. So let’s get to work.
About the Author: Sarah Johnson is a senior editor with over 20 years of experience in journalism. She’s worked for major publications and has seen the industry evolve—and devolve—in real time. She’s opinionated, she’s passionate, and she’s not afraid to call out the problems in our news ecosystem. When she’s not editing, she’s probably complaining about something on Twitter.
