Look, I’ve been in this game for 22 years
Let’s call him Marcus. He’s a friend, a colleague, and honestly, one of the few people I trust in this business. We were at a diner in Austin last Tuesday, the kind of place where the coffee is always warm and the pancakes are never fluffy. He said something that stuck with me: “The news cycle is like a dog chasing its tail, and we’re all just watching it spin.”
Which… yeah. Fair enough.
I’ve been thinking about that ever since. See, I started out as a beat reporter in some podunk town in Ohio. Covered city council meetings, school board drama, the occasional house fire. Back then, news was news. You reported the facts, you moved on. Simple as that.
But then the internet happened
And everything went to hell in a handbasket. Suddenly, everyone’s a journalist. Everyone’s got an opinion. And God help us, everyone’s gotta share it. I remember when Twitter first blew up. I was at a conference in Austin (again, weird how that keeps happening), and some hotshot tech bro was going on about how “this is gonna change everything.” I thought he was full of it. Turns out, he wasn’t wrong. Just… not in the way he thought.
Now, it’s a circus. A never-ending parade of hot takes and half-baked analysis. And we, the so-called professionals, are just as guilty as everyone else. We chase clicks. We chase engagement. We chase whatever’s gonna keep the ads rolling in. And in the process, we’ve lost sight of what we’re supposed to be doing.
Let me tell you about my friend Dave
Dave’s a photographer. Been one for 30 years. He’s covered wars, natural disasters, you name it. He told me once, “The best stories are the ones that don’t need words. The ones where the picture speaks for itself.” That’s how I feel about news, too. The best stories are the ones that don’t need spin. The ones where the facts speak for themselves.
But that’s not what we do anymore. We take a simple story, we add layers of complexity, we turn it into something unrecognizable. And why? Because that’s what gets attention. That’s what keeps people scrolling. That’s what keeps the algorithms happy.
I’m not saying I’m innocent here. I’ve done it too. I’ve taken a straightforward story and turned it into a three-part series because that’s what the editors wanted. I’ve buried the lede because the real news wasn’t sexy enough. I’ve played the game. We all have.
But here’s the thing
It doesn’t have to be this way. We don’t have to be slaves to the algorithm. We don’t have to chase every trend or jump on every bandwagon. We can be better than that. We can remember what we’re here to do.
And look, I’m not saying we should all go back to writing like it’s 1995. The world’s changed. The way we consume news has changed. But that doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice quality for quantity. It doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice truth for engagement.
I’ve seen some amazing work come out of this chaos. I’ve seen journalists use the tools at their disposal to tell stories in ways we never could have before. I’ve seen people come together to hold power to account, to shine a light in dark places. And that gives me hope.
But we’ve got a long way to go
And it starts with admitting we have a problem. It starts with looking at the mess we’ve made and saying, “Yeah, we messed up. Let’s do better.” It starts with remembering why we got into this business in the first place.
So, what’s the answer? Honestly, I don’t know. I think it’s gonna take alot of work. It’s gonna take some tough decisions. It’s gonna take some tough conversations. But I think it’s possible. I have to believe that.
Because if we can’t fix this, then what’s the point? If we can’t be better than this, then what are we even doing here?
Anyway, I’m gonna wrap this up. I could go on for hours, but I won’t. I’ll leave you with this: Next time you’re about to hit publish, ask yourself, “Am I adding to the noise, or am I adding to the signal?” And if you can’t answer that honestly, then maybe you should think twice.
And hey, if you’re in Las Vegas and looking for some actual news, check out Las Vegas local events this week. They’re doing some good work over there.
About the Author: Sarah Mitchell has been a journalist for over two decades, working in print, broadcast, and digital media. She’s covered everything from local politics to international conflicts, and she’s not afraid to call out the industry’s worst habits. When she’s not writing, she’s probably complaining about the state of modern journalism or trying to convince her cat to cuddle.
