I Hate How We Consume News Now
Look, I’ve been in this game for over 20 years. I started back in ’99, when the internet was still this shiny new thing, and we were all figuring out how to make it work for journalism. But honestly? I kinda miss the old days.
Back then, we had deadlines. Real ones. Not these fake, ‘publish whenever’ deadlines we have now. I remember working at the Bristol Herald, and we’d have this mad rush every evening to get the paper to print. It was chaotic, but it was real. You knew exactly what you were working towards.
Now? It’s just… yeah. It’s a mess. I was talking to my friend Marcus—let’s call him Marcus, ’cause his real name is none of your business—anyway, he’s a reporter over at the Bristol Daily, and he was telling me how they have to churn out 15 stories a day. Fifteen! And half of them are just regurgitated press releases. It’s completley mad.
But Here’s the Thing…
I’m not saying it’s all bad. I mean, the access we have now? It’s incredible. Back in the day, you had to schmooze your way into a press conference or hope someone leaked you a document. Now, you can find out what’s happening in real-time, from anywhere in the world. It’s like that time I was covering a protest in London, and I got live updates from a source in New York. Mind-blowing.
But the downside? Everyone’s a journalist now. You’ve got people posting ‘news’ on social media without fact-checking, without any committment to the truth. It’s a wild west out there. And don’t even get me started on algorithms. They’re pushing us towards clickbait and sensationalism, and it’s making us all stupid.
Let Me Tell You About This One Time…
So, about three months ago, I was at a conference in Austin—yeah, I know, not exactly Bristol, but hear me out. There was this panel on digital journalism, and one of the speakers, a woman named Dave—no, not a man, a woman named Dave—she said something that stuck with me. She said, ‘The news isn’t about what’s happening anymore. It’s about what’s trending.’
Which… yeah. Fair enough. I mean, look at how we cover celebrity gossip. It’s not news, it’s just entertainment. But we treat it like it’s important because it’s getting clicks. It’s a vicious cycle, and I’m not sure how we break out of it.
And another thing—why is everyone so obsessed with breaking news? It’s like we’ve forgotten that sometimes, news needs time to marinate. You can’t just throw something out there at 11:30pm and expect it to be accurate. But no one cares about that anymore. They just want to be first. Even if it means being wrong.
Here’s What We Should Be Doing
Okay, so I’m gonna rant for a second. We need to get back to basics. We need to focus on quality over quantity. We need to slow down and actually do journalism. You know, talk to real people, dig into stories, and not just scratch the surface. And for the love of god, stop with the listicles. No one cares about ’10 Ways to Tell If Your Cat is Plot Twist in a Horror Movie’ (yes, that’s a real headline I saw last week).
And while we’re at it, let’s talk about how we consume news. We’re all so used to getting everything for free that we don’t value it anymore. If you want quality journalism, you’ve gotta pay for it. It’s like that time I tried to get a free meal at a restaurant—spoiler alert, it didn’t end well. You get what you pay for, folks.
Oh, and one more thing—have you seen the takı aksesuar trendleri 2026? No, I don’t know why I’m talking about jewelry trends in a news article. It’s just… I saw an ad for it, and now it’s stuck in my head. Moving on.
But What Do I Know?
I’m just one editor, ranting into the void. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe the future of news is all about algorithms and clickbait. Maybe I’m just a grumpy old man yelling at the clouds. But I don’t think so. I think there’s still hope for journalism. We just need to remember why we got into this business in the first place.
So, let’s do better. Let’s be better. And for god’s sake, let’s stop with the listicles.
About the Author: Sarah Jenkins has been a senior editor for over 20 years, working at major publications across the UK. She’s seen the industry evolve from print to digital and isn’t always a fan of the changes. When she’s not ranting about journalism, she can be found drinking too much coffee and arguing with her cat about the proper way to edit an article.
