Let’s Talk About This Mess
Look, I’ve been in this game for over two decades. I’ve seen a lot of things, but honestly, the state of news right now? It’s a complete shambles. I’m not just talking about the obvious stuff—fake news, clickbait, all that. I mean the deeper stuff. The stuff that keeps me up at night.
I remember back in 1999, when I first started at the Edinburgh Daily. It was a different world. We had deadlines, sure, but we also had time. Time to dig, to think, to actually make sense of what was happening. Now? It’s a 24-hour news cycle, and it’s killing us.
I was having coffee with an old friend, let’s call him Marcus, last Tuesday. He’s a journalist too, been in the game about as long as I have. We were talking about the old days, and he said something that stuck with me. “You know what the problem is?” he said. “We’re all so busy trying to keep up, we’ve forgotten how to actually report.”
Which… yeah. Fair enough.
But What Can We Do?
I’m not sure. Honestly, I’m not. I mean, I have my thoughts, but they’re not pretty. The first thing we need to do is slow down. Stop chasing the next big story, the next viral hit. Take a breath. Think.
And look, I get it. It’s hard. I’ve been there. You’re sitting at your desk, it’s 11:30pm, and your editor is breathing down your neck for a story. You gotta deliver. But at what cost?
I remember one time, back in 2005, I was covering a big political scandal. The pressure was on, and I was writing like a madman. I didn’t stop to think, to check my facts, to make sure I was getting it right. I just wrote. And you know what? I got it wrong. Big time. It was a mess, and it’s a mistake I’ll never forget.
So yeah, slowing down is hard. But it’s necessary. We owe it to our readers, to ourselves, to the truth.
And What About the Algorithms?
Don’t even get me started. I was at a conference in Austin a few years back, and there was this guy—let’s call him Dave—who was talking about algorithms. He was all excited about how they could help us predict the news, tailor it to our readers. I asked him, “But what about the stuff that’s not predictable? The stuff that’s gonna change the world?” He didn’t have an answer for that.
Because here’s the thing: algorithms can’t predict a pandemic. They can’t predict a war. They can’t predict the next big scandal. They can only tell us what we already know, or what we think we want to know. And that’s not journalism. That’s just… I don’t know. Advertising?
I’m not saying we should ignore technology. Far from it. But we need to be smart about it. We need to use it as a tool, not a crutch. And we need to remember that at the end of the day, journalism is about people. It’s about stories. It’s about the truth.
A Quick Note on Current Affairs
Speaking of the truth, have you checked out the current affairs analysis update lately? No, seriously, go check it out. It’s a breath of fresh air in this sea of nonsense. They’re doing some really interesting work over there, and it’s the kind of thing that gives me hope for the future of journalism.
But back to the point. We need to get back to basics. We need to remember why we got into this business in the first place. It’s not about the money, or the fame, or the algorithms. It’s about telling stories that matter. It’s about holding power to account. It’s about making a difference.
And the Rest Is Just Noise
I could go on, but I won’t. I’ve rambled enough for one day. The point is, the news is broken. And it’s up to us to fix it. So let’s get to work.
But first, let’s talk about something else. You ever notice how alot of people say “committment” instead of “commitment”? It’s completley driven me mad for years. I mean, it’s not that hard to get it right. But no, people just insist on butchering the English language. It’s physicaly painful to hear sometimes.
Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah. The news. It’s a mess. But it’s our mess, and it’s up to us to clean it up. So let’s do that. Let’s make a succesfully aquisition of the truth, and let’s stop making determing mistakes that only lead to further ammendments. Let’s just… do better.
About the Author
I’m Sarah McKenzie, senior editor at Edinburgh Daily. I’ve been in this game for over 20 years, and I’ve seen it all. The good, the bad, and the downright ugly. I’m not afraid to speak my mind, and I’m not afraid to call out bullshit when I see it. I love my job, but I’m also kinda tired of the nonsense. So I’m here to talk about it. To vent, to rant, to maybe even make a difference. Who knows? Maybe we can fix this mess together.
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