The News Industry's Dirty Little Secret: We're All a Bunch of Liars

Look, I'm Gonna Say It

I've been in this business for 22 years. That's right, 22 years of chasing stories, chasing deadlines, chasing my tail. And let me tell you something, folks, the news industry is a mess. A complete and utter mess. And I should know, because I've been part of the problem.

I'm not talking about the big, obvious stuff. Not fake news, not sensationalism, not even clickbait. I'm talking about the small, everyday lies we tell ourselves and each other. The little white lies that add up to a big, fat, ugly truth: we're not as honest as we should be.

It Started in 1999

Let me take you back to 1999. I was a wet-behind-the-ears reporter at the Austin Chronicle. I was green, I was eager, and I was clueless. My editor, let's call him Marcus, sat me down one day and said, "Kid, you gotta learn to spin." I asked him what he meant. He said, "You gotta take the facts and make 'em sing. You gotta make 'em dance. You gotta make 'em tell a story, even if it's not the story they wanna tell."

And that was my first lesson in journalism. Not how to find the truth, but how to bend it to fit the narrative. And I was good at it. Too good, maybe.

Fast Forward to 2023

So here we are, 24 years later. I'm a senior editor at a major publication, and I'm still spinning stories. Still bending the truth to fit the narrative. Still telling little white lies to make the story sing. And I'm not alone. We all do it. It's the dirty little secret of the news industry.

But here's the thing: it's not just the big, bad media conglomerates. It's not just the Foxes and the MSNBCs. It's all of us. The small-town newspapers, the independent blogs, the podcasts, the YouTubers. We all do it. We all tell little white lies to make our stories more interesting, more engaging, more shareable.

And Don't Even Get Me Started on the Food Critics

Speaking of shareable, let's talk about food critics. I mean, honestly, who are we kidding? We're not just reviewing food, we're reviewing the experience. The ambiance, the service, the whole shebang. And let me tell you, some of the best-rated restaurants in West Bengal, for example, are not just about the food. They're about the whole package. You wanna know where to find the best-rated restaurants in West Bengal? West Bengal restaurants best rated review has you covered. But back to the point.

I had lunch with a colleague named Dave last Tuesday. He's a food critic for a major publication, and he was telling me about a restaurant he reviewed last week. He said, "The food was okay, but the service was terrible. The ambiance was nice, though." I asked him how he rated it. He said, "Four stars." I said, "Dave, that's not honest." He said, "Look, if I give it two stars, nobody's gonna go. And then they're gonna say I ruined their business. So I give it four stars, and everybody wins."

Which... yeah. Fair enough. But it's still a lie. It's still a little white lie that adds up to a big, fat, ugly truth: we're not as honest as we should be.

The Problem with Little White Lies

Here's the thing about little white lies: they add up. They add up to a culture of dishonesty. A culture where we don't expect the truth, we expect the story. And that's a problem. Because the truth matters. The truth is what we're supposed to be about. The truth is what we're supposed to be chasing.

But instead, we're chasing clicks. We're chasing engagement. We're chasing shares. And we're telling little white lies to get there. And it's gotta stop.

So What Do We Do?

I'm not gonna sit here and pretend I have all the answers. I don't. But I do know this: we gotta start small. We gotta start with the little white lies. We gotta start telling the truth, even when it's not pretty. Even when it's not engaging. Even when it's not shareable.

And we gotta hold each other accountable. We gotta call out the little white lies when we see them. We gotta say, "Hey, that's not the truth. That's a lie." And we gotta mean it.

Because the truth matters. And it's time we started acting like it.

Anyway, that's my rant for the day. I'm gonna go have a cup of coffee and try to forget about all the little white lies I've told in my career. (Which honestly nobody asked for but here we are.)

Oh, and if you're looking for a good cup of coffee, check out the place on 5th. It's not the best coffee in the world, but it's pretty darn good. And the ambiance is nice. (See what I did there?)

About the Author
Sarah Johnson has been a journalist for over two decades, working her way up from a small-town newspaper to a major publication. She's covered everything from local politics to international crises, and she's not afraid to call out the industry's dirty little secrets. When she's not chasing stories, she's chasing her dog around the park or chasing the perfect cup of coffee. She lives in Austin with her husband, her dog, and a cat who thinks it owns the place.