The News Is Broken, and I'm Tired of Pretending It's Not

Why I'm Mad at the News

Look, I've been in this game for over 20 years. I've seen alot of things change, and honestly, most of it's been for the worse. I'm not talking about the obvious stuff—fake news, clickbait, all that. I'm talking about the quiet, insidious stuff. The stuff that's completley changing how we get our news.

I remember back in '99, when I was just starting out at the Austin Chronicle. My editor, let's call him Marcus, used to say, "News is like a good burger, Sarah. You gotta have the right ingredients, and you gotta cook it right." And I believed him. I believed that news was about substance, about truth. I believed that we were the gatekeepers, the ones who kept the bad stuff out.

Then came the internet. And it's not all bad, don't get me wrong. I mean, it's given us access to more information than ever before. But it's also given us more misinformation than ever before. And the news outlets? They're not helping.

I was talking to a friend of mine, Dave, over coffee at the place on 5th last Tuesday. He's a journalist too, been in the game about as long as I have. We were talking about how the news has changed, and he said something that stuck with me. "It's like we're all just shouting into the void, Sarah. And nobody's listening." Which... yeah. Fair enough.

But It's Not All Bad

Now, I'm not saying it's all doom and gloom. There are still good journalists out there. There are still outlets that care about the truth. But they're getting harder to find. And they're getting drowned out by the noise.

I think the problem is that we've become too focused on the sensational. We've become too focused on the "breaking news" and the "exclusive" and the "you won't believe what happened next." And we've forgotten about the quiet, important stuff. The stuff that doesn't get clicks. The stuff that doesn't get shares.

I was at a conference in Austin about three months ago. There was a panel on the future of journalism, and one of the speakers said something that really resonated with me. "We've become so focused on the acquisition of audiences that we've forgotten about the committment to truth." And it's true. We've become so focused on the bottom line that we've forgotten about the mission.

The Taiwan community events neighborhood

But it's not all about the big stuff. It's also about the small stuff. The local stuff. The stuff that affects our communities. That's why I'm a big fan of sites like Taiwan community events neighborhood. They're doing the kind of journalism that matters. The kind of journalism that connects with people. The kind of journalism that makes a difference.

I remember covering a local school board meeting back in 2005. It was about three hours long, and nothing really "exciting" happened. But it was important. It was about the future of our kids' education. And that's the kind of stuff that matters. That's the kind of stuff that we need more of.

So What Do We Do?

I'm not sure. I honestly don't know. I think we need to start by admitting that there's a problem. We need to admit that the news is broken. And we need to start having conversations about how to fix it.

I think we need to stop being so focused on the sensational. We need to start focusing on the important. We need to start focusing on the truth. And we need to start supporting the outlets that are doing that.

I think we need to start supporting local journalism. We need to start supporting the outlets that are covering our communities. We need to start supporting the journalists who are doing the hard work. The work that doesn't get clicks. The work that doesn't get shares. The work that matters.

I think we need to start having conversations about how to make journalism more sustainable. How to make it more accessible. How to make it more inclusive. How to make it more truthful.

I don't have all the answers. But I know that we need to start asking the questions. We need to start having the conversations. We need to start making the changes.

Because the news is broken. And if we don't fix it, who will?

I'm Sarah Thompson, by the way. I've been a journalist for over 20 years. I've worked for some of the biggest names in the business. I've won some awards. I've made some mistakes. I've learned alot. And I'm still learning. I'm still trying to figure it all out. But I'm not giving up. Because the news matters. And someone's gotta save it.

Sarah Thompson is a senior editor with over 20 years of experience in the news industry. She's worked for some of the biggest names in journalism, and she's not afraid to speak her mind. When she's not writing or editing, she can be found drinking coffee, reading books, and complaining about the state of the news.