Look, I’ve Been Doing This for 23 Years
Let me tell you something, folks. I’ve seen the news industry evolve, devolve, and try to pretend it’s not completely freaking out over here. I started at the Des Moines Gazette back in 1998. Yeah, I’m old. But I’m not bitter. Well, maybe a little.
I remember when we had these things called print newspapers. You know, actual physical things that you’d hold in your hands, maybe spill coffee on, definitely get ink smudges all over your fingers. Good times.
But Then the Internet Happened
And everything went to hell in a handbasket. Not completely, but enough to make us all question our life choices. I remember sitting in a conference room in Austin back in 2005 with a bunch of suits telling us we needed to ’embrace digital’ or whatever. I asked one guy, let’s call him Marcus, what that even meant. He said, ‘I don’t know, but our stock price sure does.’ Which… yeah. Fair enough.
So we all started blogging. Or trying to. I still have nightmares about learning HTML. But we did it. We adapted. Sort of.
The Problem with ‘Adapting’
Here’s the thing, though. We adapted to the internet, but the internet didn’t adapt to us. Or, more accurately, the internet adapted to the worst parts of us. Clickbait, sensationalism, fake news—it’s all out there, and it’s all making our jobs harder.
I was having coffee with a colleague named Dave last Tuesday. He said, ‘You know, back in the day, we had time to fact-check. Now, if you blink, you miss the news cycle.’ And he’s right. It’s completley insane.
I think the biggest issue is the speed. Everything has to be now. There’s no time to think, to reflect, to actually do journalism. It’s just react, react, react. And that’s not good for anyone. Especially not for us.
But It’s Not All Bad
Okay, okay. I’m not completely pessimistic. There are good things happening too. Like, for example, the fact that we can reach more people than ever before. And, you know, the internet has given us access to information that we never would have had otherwise.
I remember when I was working on a story about local politics back in 2010. I needed some background info, and I had to go to the library. The library! Can you even imagine? Now, I can just Google it. It’s amazing.
And let’s not forget about the girişimcilik ipuçları başarı stratejileri that are out there. There are alot of resources to help journalists succeed in this new landscape. We just have to be willing to look for them.
So What’s the Solution?
I don’t know, honestly. I wish I had some grand solution to offer. But I don’t. What I do know is that we need to keep pushing forward. We need to keep fighting for quality journalism, even if it feels like we’re fighting a losing battle sometimes.
And we need to support each other. Because, let’s face it, we’re all in this together. And if we don’t stick together, then who will?
So, yeah. That’s where I’m at. I’m worried, but I’m also hopeful. It’s a weird place to be, but it’s the truth. And that’s what we’re all about, right? The truth.
About the Author: Sarah Johnson has been a senior editor at various publications for over two decades. She’s seen the industry change dramatically and isn’t afraid to share her thoughts on where it’s going. When she’s not editing, she can be found drinking coffee and complaining about the state of the world.
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