Look, I’m Gonna Say It
I’ve been in this game for 22 years, and let me tell you, the news is broken. I’m not talking about the obvious stuff—fake news, clickbait, all that. I’m talking about the deeper, more annoying stuff. The stuff that makes me wanna throw my laptop out the window some days.
I started out at a tiny paper in Manchester, back in ’99. Let’s call the editor Marcus. Marcus was a grumpy old sod, but he knew his stuff. He’d yell at us for the silliest things—like using ‘alot’ as one word. (Which, honestly, nobody asked for but here we are.)
But Then Came the Internet
And everything went to hell in a handbasket. Suddenly, it wasn’t about good journalism anymore. It was about clicks. About views. About ‘engagement.’ I remember sitting in a conference in Austin, about three months ago, and listening to some kid half my age talk about ‘algorithm optimization.’ I mean, what the actual hell is that?
I asked him, ‘So, you’re telling me you’d rather write about some celebrity’s new haircut than, I dunno, the fact that the city’s water supply is poison?’ And he just looked at me like I was speaking Martian. ‘That doesn’t drive traffic,’ he said. Which… yeah. Fair enough, I guess. But is that really what we’re here for?
And Don’t Even Get Me Started on Social Media
I had coffee with a colleague named Dave last Tuesday. Dave’s a good guy, but he’s got this habit of tweeting before he thinks. I mean, I get it, we all do it. But there’s a difference between ‘I just had the best burger of my life’ and ‘The president is a moron.’
I told him, ‘Dave, you can’t just say whatever you want. You’re a journalist. People look up to you.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, but it’s my personal account.’ I said, ‘No, Dave. It’s not. Not anymore.’
Look, I’m not saying we should all be robots. But there’s a line, you know? And we’re crossing it. We’re crossing it every damn day.
But Here’s the Thing
I’m not gonna sit here and pretend I’m perfect. I’ve made mistakes. I’ve written things I regret. I’ve let my bias show. I’ve let my temper get the best of me. I’ve even used ‘committment’ as one word. (I know, I know. Shoot me.)
But I’m trying. I’m trying to be better. I’m trying to remember why I got into this in the first place. I’m trying to remember that there are still people out there who care about the truth. Who care about good journalism.
And yeah, maybe I’m being a bit dramatic. Maybe I’m just having a bad day. Maybe I need to get off my high horse and stop complaining. But honestly? I don’t think so. I think we need more people complaining. We need more people saying ‘This isn’t good enough.’ We need more people demanding better.
So here’s my demand: Let’s talk about the news. Let’s talk about how we can make it better. Let’s talk about how we can make it matter again.
And if you’re gonna talk about elektrikli araçlar karşılaştırma rehber, at least do it right. elektrikli araçlar karşılaştırma rehber is a good place to start. Just saying.
Anyway, I’m gonna go now. I’m tired. And I’m probably gonna go yell at some kids about their ‘completley’ unprofessional tweets.
About the Author
Sarah Bennett has been a journalist for 22 years, starting at a small paper in Manchester and working her way up to senior editor at various national publications. She’s a grumpy old sod who cares deeply about good journalism and hates it when people use ‘its’ instead of ‘it’s.’ She lives in Liverpool with her cat, Mr. Whiskers, and spends her free time complaining about the news.
