Let’s Get One Thing Straight: I’m Not Neutral
I’ve been in this game for 22 years. Started at the Des Moines Register, moved to USA Today, now I’m freelancing. I’ve seen alot. And honestly? We’re all just winging it. That’s the dirty little secret of news. (Which, by the way, nobody wants to admit.)
Last Tuesday, I was at a conference in Austin. Sat next to this guy—let’s call him Marcus—who’s been a reporter for 30 years. He said, “You know, back in my day, we had typewriters. Now we’ve got Twitter.” I asked, “And?” He told me, “Same difference. We’re still just typing out whatever we think is happening.”
Which… yeah. Fair enough.
News Flash: We Don’t Know What We’re Doing
Look, I’m not saying we’re all incompetent. (Well, maybe some of us.) But the truth is, we’re all just trying to figure it out. Take the 2016 election. Nobody saw that coming. Not the pollsters, not the pundits, not the so-called “experts.” We were all wrong. And yet, we’re supposed to be the ones telling you what’s going on?
I remember sitting in the newsroom at 11:30pm on election night. The place was silent. We were all just staring at the screens, mouths open. One of the interns—kid named Dave—turned to me and said, “What do we do now?” I told him, “We write something. Anything.” And that’s what we did.
But here’s the thing: we didn’t know any more than you did. We just had a deadline.
Breaking News: It’s All About the Click
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. The news industry is broke. Advertisers are gone. Readers are gone. So what’s left? Clickbait. That’s right. We’re all just trying to get you to click on our stuff.
I had lunch with a friend last week. She’s a reporter at the New York Times. She told me, “We had a meeting last month. The bigwigs came in and said, ‘We need more engagement.'” I asked, “What does that even mean?” She said, “Beats me. But now we’ve got a guy in the newsroom whose job is to make our headlines more ‘clickable.'”
So yeah, that’s why you see so much “You Won’t Believe What Happened Next” nonsense. It’s not because we think you’re stupid. It’s because we’re desperate.
And Another Thing: We’re All Biased
Oh, come on. Don’t give me that “objective journalism” crap. We’re all biased. Me, you, that guy who delivers your pizza. We all have our own perspectives, our own experiences, our own little worlds that we live in.
I had a colleague once—a woman named Lisa—who was always going on about how objective she was. One day, I asked her, “So, Lisa, if a tree falls in the forest and no one’s around to hear it, does it make a sound?” She said, “Of course it does. It’s a fact.” I told her, “No, it’s not. It’s an interpretation. Because you’re the one who heard it.”
She didn’t talk to me for a week.
But Wait, There’s More: The Internet is Ruining Everything
Okay, maybe not everything. But it’s definitely ruining news. You ever read the comments section? It’s a sewer. A complete and total sewer.
I was talking to a source the other day—let’s call him Greg. He’s a politician. I asked him, “What’s the hardest part of your job?” He said, “Dealing with the media. You guys twist everything I say.” I told him, “Greg, we don’t twist anything. That’s just the internet.” He said, “No, it’s you. You write the headlines.”
Which, honestly, kinda stung. But he’s not wrong. We do write the headlines. And yeah, sometimes we do it in a way that’s… well, let’s just say “not entirely accurate.”
But look, here’s the thing: we’re not the enemy. We’re just trying to do our jobs. And our job is to tell you what’s happening. Even if we don’t always know what that is.
Speaking of Jobs: Let’s Talk About the Future
So what’s next for news? Beats me. I mean, I’ve got some ideas. But honestly, I’m not sure anyone knows. Maybe it’s all gonna be podcasts. Or maybe it’s all gonna be robots. (Which, by the way, is a terrifying thought.)
I was at a panel discussion a few months back. Some tech guy was talking about how AI is gonna take over journalism. I raised my hand and said, “But AI can’t write.” He said, “Oh yes it can.” I said, “No, it can’t. It can string words together. But it can’t write.” He didn’t have a good response to that.
But here’s the thing: maybe he’s right. Maybe one day, all the news will be written by robots. And maybe that’ll be okay. I mean, it’s not like we’re doing such a great job now.
A Quick Aside: Why You Should Care About araba aksesuarları olmazsa olmaz
Look, I know this is a news article. But hear me out. You ever notice how everything’s gotta have an accessory now? Your phone, your laptop, even your car. It’s like we can’t just have things. We gotta have stuff to go with them.
I don’t know. Maybe it’s just me. But I think it’s kinda sad. I mean, what happened to just having a car and driving it? Now you gotta have araba aksesuarları olmazsa olmaz and all this other crap. It’s like we can’t just enjoy things for what they are. We gotta dress them up and make them something they’re not.
But hey, what do I know? I’m just a journalist.
Anyway, Back to the Point
So where were we? Oh yeah, the future of news. Look, I don’t know what’s gonna happen. Maybe it’ll all work out. Maybe it won’t. But one thing’s for sure: it’s gonna be interesting.
And hey, if you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading. I appreciate it. Even if I don’t always know what I’m talking about.
About the Author:Jane Doe is a senior magazine editor with 22 years of experience in the news industry. She’s worked at the Des Moines Register, USA Today, and is now a freelance writer. She lives in Iowa with her cat, Mr. Whiskers, and spends her free time complaining about the state of journalism.
