Look, We’ve Got a Problem
I’m gonna say something controversial: we’re completley messed up when it comes to news. I’ve been editing for 22 years, and honestly, it’s getting worse. Not just the news itself, but how we consume it. How we think about it.
Last Tuesday, I was at a conference in Austin. Over coffee at the place on 5th, a colleague named Dave said to me, “Marcus, you know, I think we’re just gonna keep spiraling.” Marcus, let’s call him that, is a data journalist. He’s seen the numbers. He knows what’s up.
And he’s right. We’re in trouble.
It’s Not Just Fake News
Oh, come on. Don’t roll your eyes at me. Yes, fake news is a thing, but it’s not the only thing. It’s not even the biggest thing. It’s the symptom of a much bigger, much messier problem.
About three months ago, I was talking to my friend Sarah. She’s a teacher, teaches high school history. She told me her students can’t tell the difference between news and opinion. They don’t know the difference between a report and an editorial. And it’s not their fault. We’ve failed them.
We’ve failed them because we’ve let the news become a commodity. Something to be bought and sold, packaged and sold, sold, sold. And the stuff that sells? It’s not the nuanced, complicated, boring truth. It’s the shiny, simple, exciting lie.
And look, I get it. I do. Nuance is hard. It’s hard to understand, hard to explain, hard to sell. But that’s our job. That’s what we’re supposed to do. Instead, we’re feeding people clickbait and calling it breakfast.
But Here’s the Thing…
We can’t just blame the media. Because that’s too easy. And honestly, nobody’s that innocent.
I was at a dinner party last month. Some guy, let’s call him Greg, started going off about “the liberal media.” And I said, “Greg, you don’t think the media’s liberal, you think the truth is liberal.” And he looked at me like I’d just spoken in tongues.
But it’s true. We consume news to confirm what we already believe. We don’t want to be challenged. We want to be comforted. We want to be told we’re right. And the media? They’re happy to oblige.
But here’s the kicker: it’s not just the big news orgs. It’s all of us. It’s the blogs, the podcasts, the YouTube channels. It’s the guy on Twitter with 214 followers talking about rental market prices update like he’s an expert. (Spoiler: he’s not.)
Anecdote Time
Okay, so last year I was editing this piece about climate change. And this one scientist, Dr. Patel, she said something that stuck with me. She said, “Marcus, people don’t want facts. They want stories.” And I said, “Well, yeah, that’s journalism.” And she said, “No, you don’t understand. They want their story.”
Which… yeah. Fair enough.
But here’s the thing: facts don’t care about your story. Facts don’t care about what you want to be true. Facts just are. And if we can’t handle that, if we can’t teach that, then we’re in big trouble.
And Another Thing…
I’m gonna digress for a sec. I know, I know, stay on topic, Marcus. But hear me out.
Physicaly, news consumption has changed. I mean, look at us. We’re glued to our phones. We’re scrolling, we’re liking, we’re sharing. We’re not reading. We’re not thinking. We’re reacting.
And the algorithms? They’re not helping. They’re feeding us more of what we already like. More of what we already believe. They’re creating these little echo chambers, and we’re all just sitting there, nodding our heads, saying, “Yeah, that’s right. That’s so right.”
But it’s not right. It’s wrong. It’s so wrong.
So What Do We Do?
I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t. I wish I did. I wish I had some big, grand solution. But I don’t.
I mean, I think part of it is education. We need to teach people how to think. How to question. How to wait before reacting. But that’s a big, complicated thing. It’s not gonna happen overnight.
And the media? They need to start caring. They need to start caring about truth more than they care about clicks. More than they care about ad revenue. More than they care about being “first.” But again, that’s a big ask.
So yeah. I don’t know. Maybe we’re just screwed. Maybe we’re gonna keep spiraling. Maybe Marcus was right.
But I hope not. I really, really hope not.
About the Author: Marcus Green has been a senior editor for over two decades, working with major publications across the UK. He’s seen the industry evolve, devolve, and repeat. He’s opinionated, he’s flawed, and he’s not afraid to admit when he’s wrong. Which is rare. But it happens.
