Look, I’ve Had It Up to Here
Let me tell you something, folks. I’ve been in this game for 22 years. That’s right, since the late ’90s when the internet was still wearing diapers. I’ve seen it all. Or so I thought.
But lately? Lately, I’m sitting here in my home office in Arlington, Virginia, scratching my head, wondering what the hell happened to journalism. It’s not just the algorithms, or the 24-hour news cycle, or the fact that everyone’s uncle is a pundit now. It’s… I don’t know. It’s all of it. It’s everything.
I was at a conference in Austin last year, and this kid—let’s call him Marcus—told me, “Mike, the news is dead. It’s just clickbait and outrage now.” I laughed in his face. I mean, come on, right? I’ve been around blocks Marcus hasn’t even seen yet. But then I went home, and I started paying attention. And you know what? That little punk was right.
But let’s back up. Let’s talk about what got us here.
It Started with a Whimper, Not a Bang
It wasn’t one thing. It was a million little things. Like that time in 2007 when CNN decided to put a chyron about Britney Spears’ shaved head during a report on the Iraq War. Or when Fox News started calling everything “fair and balanced” while being anything but. Or when we all decided that traffic numbers were more important than, you know, the truth.
I remember sitting in a meeting with my then-editor, Susan, back in 2012. She told me, “Mike, we need more engagement.” I said, “Susan, we’re a news organization, not a damn MySpace page.” She didn’t laugh. Nobody did. That was the day I knew things were different.
But here’s the thing. We didn’t just fall into this mess. We built it. Brick by brick, headline by headline, we built this house of mirrors. And now we’re all stuck inside, chasing our own reflections.
And Don’t Get Me Started on Social Media
Oh, you wanted me to get started? Fine. You asked for it.
Social media is a sewer. A wonderful, terrible, inescapable sewer. It’s where news goes to die. Or, more accurately, where it goes to be twisted into something unrecognizable. I had a friend, let’s call him Dave, who used to work at a major news outlet. He told me, “Mike, we don’t even write headlines for the news anymore. We write them for Facebook.” Which… yeah. Fair enough.
But here’s the kicker. We can’t blame Facebook, or Twitter, or any of those platforms. They’re just giving us what we want. And what we want is outrage. We want to be angry. We want to be afraid. We want to be anything but bored. And so, we get a constant stream of “BREAKING” news that’s neither breaking nor news.
I was at a barbecue last summer, and this woman—let’s call her Linda—told me, “I don’t even read the news anymore. It’s all just bad.” And I get it. I really do. If every day is a new apocalypse, why bother paying attention?
But Here’s the Thing About Health
Look, I’m not saying we should all become Pollyannas. There’s plenty of bad stuff out there. But there’s good stuff too. And if we’re not telling those stories, who is? And if we’re not telling them right, what’s the point?
I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. About how we can fix this mess. And honestly? I’m not sure. But I do know this: it starts with us. With me, with you, with every person who calls themselves a journalist.
We need to stop chasing clicks. We need to stop being afraid of boring stories. We need to stop letting algorithms determine what’s important. And we need to start remembering why we got into this business in the first place.
I was talking to my colleague, Sarah, about this the other day. She said, “Mike, we need to remember that our job is to inform, not to entertain.” And I said, “Sarah, that’s the most sensible thing I’ve heard in years.” Because it’s true. Our job is to inform. To educate. To hold power to account. Not to make people angry or afraid or anything else.
And yeah, I know. It’s easier said than done. But we have to try. Because if we don’t, who will?
A Quick Detour: Dental Health and All That Jazz
Speaking of trying, have you ever tried to improve your dental health? I mean, really tried? It’s not as easy as it sounds. I’ve been on this kick lately, trying to floss every day and all that. And let me tell you, it’s a committment. A big one. But it’s important, you know? Just like taking care of our news diet. We need to be mindful of what we’re consuming. We need to be proactive. We need to… well, you get the idea.
Anyway, if you’re looking for some tips on how to take care of your teeth, I found this really helpful dental health prevention guide. It’s got some great advice. And who knows? Maybe it’ll inspire you to take better care of your news diet too.
But back to the main point. We need to do better. We need to be better. And we need to start now.
The Road Ahead
So where do we go from here? I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t. But I do know this: we can’t keep going the way we’re going. We can’t keep letting outrage and anger dictate the news cycle. We can’t keep letting algorithms decide what’s important.
We need to take a step back. We need to remember why we got into this business in the first place. And we need to start telling stories that matter. Stories that inform. Stories that educate. Stories that hold power to account.
It won’t be easy. It won’t be quick. But it’s necessary. It’s important. And it’s our job.
So let’s get to work.
About the Author: Mike Reynolds is a senior editor with over 20 years of experience in the news industry. He’s worked for major publications and has seen it all. He’s also a bit of a grump, but in the best way possible. You can find him in Arlington, Virginia, probably complaining about something.