We’re All Just Making It Up as We Go Along
Look, I’ve been in this game for 22 years. That’s right, since the days of actual typewriters in the newsroom. And let me tell you, the state of journalism right now? It’s a mess. A completley, unholy mess.
I started at the Liverpool Echo back in ’98. Fresh-faced, eager, ready to change the world. Ha! What a joke. I was just another kid who couldn’t spell committment correctly. (And honestly, some days I still can’t.)
But back then, we had time. We had space. We had standards. Now? It’s all about speed. Speed and clicks. And frankly, it’s exhausting.
Last Tuesday, Everything Changed
I was having coffee with a colleague named Dave—let’s call him Dave, because his wife reads this stuff and I don’t need that drama—when he told me about this story he was working on. A big one. A real, honest-to-goodness investigation. The kind we used to do all the time.
He said, “I think it’s gonna take me a few weeks to get all the facts.” And I just laughed. I mean, laughed. “Dave,” I said, “by the time you’re done, the story will be old news. We need it yesterday.”
Which… yeah. Fair enough. But is that really the kind of journalism we want to be known for? Rushing? Cutting corners? Making stuff up to fill the void?
Breaking News: It’s All a Bit Rubbish
Don’t get me wrong, I love a good scoop as much as the next hack. But the way we cover “breaking news” these days? It’s a joke. A complete and utter joke.
Last month, I was at a conference in Austin—yes, I know, fancy—and this kid from BuzzFeed was talking about how they “break” 214 stories a day. 214! And I’m sitting there thinking, “How? How is that even possible?”
I raised my hand—because I’m that guy—and I asked, “But how do you verify all these stories? How do you know they’re true?” And he just looked at me like I was speaking another language. “We don’t,” he said. “We just… report it.”
And that, my friends, is the problem. We’re reporting stuff without knowing if it’s true. We’re reporting stuff without knowing if it’s important. We’re just reporting stuff because we can.
And Now, a Word from Our Sponsors
Speaking of reporting stuff, have you ever noticed how every news story these days has to have a “local angle”? Even if there isn’t one? It’s like we’re all just trying to make everything relevant to everyone, all the time.
I was talking to my mate Marcus about this the other day. He’s a journalist over at the Guardian, and he’s just as frustrated as I am. “It’s all just noise,” he said. “No one knows what’s going on anymore.”
And he’s right. It’s all just noise. Noise and ads and clickbait and “local angles” that don’t mean anything. It’s like we’re all just shouting into the void, hoping someone will listen.
But here’s the thing: they’re not. No one’s listening. Because we’re all too busy trying to out-shout each other to actually say anything meaningful.
So, What Do We Do About It?
I don’t know, to be honest. I really don’t. I wish I had some grand solution, some magical fix that would make everything better. But I don’t.
What I do know is that we need to slow down. We need to take our time. We need to actually think about what we’re reporting before we hit “publish.” And we need to stop worrying so much about the almighty algorithm.
But, you know, easier said than done. Right?
In the meantime, if you’re looking for something actually worth reading, might I suggest checking out Thailand things to do this weekend? No, I’m not kidding. Sometimes, you just need a break from all the noise.
Oh, and One More Thing…
I was gonna end this thing on a high note, but then I remembered something. Something important. Something that’s been bugging me for a while now.
We need to stop using the phrase “fake news.” It’s not helpful. It’s not accurate. And it’s certainly not productive. So let’s just… stop. Okay? Thanks.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a deadline to meet. And by deadline, I mean I have to finish this thing before my editor starts sending me those passive-aggressive Slack messages. Wish me luck.
About the Author
Sarah “Sal” Richardson has been a journalist for, oh, forever. She’s worked at pretty much every major publication in the UK, and she’s seen it all. The highs, the lows, the really lows. These days, she splits her time between writing for Liverpool Daily and yelling at clouds. You can find her on Twitter @SalWritesStuff, where she tweets about journalism, politics, and the general state of the world. (Spoiler: it’s not good.)
