Look, I’m Gonna Say It
I’ve been editing news for 22 years. That’s 22 years of watching the news industry slowly turn into a dumpster fire. And I’m tired of it. Tired of the spin, the sensationalism, the clickbait. Tired of watching my friends in the industry chase clicks than actual truth. (Yes, than. I know, I know.)
I started at the Edinburgh Daily back when newspapers still mattered. We had a mission then. Inform the public, hold power to account, all that jazz. Now? It’s a committment to engagement metrics, completley divorced from actual journalism.
Let Me Tell You About Marcus
Let’s call him Marcus. We worked together at the Daily. Smart guy, great writer, but he got poached by a digital outfit. You know the type—lots of pop-ups, autoplay videos, articles with titles like ‘You Won’t Believe What Happened Next!’
I ran into him last Tuesday at the coffee shop on 5th. He looked exhausted. ‘It’s a grind,’ he told me. ‘We’re not journalists anymore, we’re content creators.’ Which… yeah. Fair enough.
But Here’s the Thing
It’s not all bad. There are still good journalists out there, fighting the good fight. But they’re drowning in a sea of nonsense. And the public? They’re getting fed up. A study by the University of Edinburgh found that 214 out of 300 respondents couldn’t name a single trustworthy news source. That’s a problem.
And don’t get me started on the 24-hour news cycle. It’s a hamster wheel of nonsense. ‘Breaking news’ alerts for every little thing. It’s like the boy who cried wolf, but with more ads and fewer actual wolves.
I Mean, Just Look at Politics
About three months ago, I was at a conference in Austin. A colleague named Dave leaned over during a panel on political reporting and said, ‘It’s all just noise now.’ He’s not wrong. The news covers politics like it’s a reality TV show. Who’s up, who’s down, who said what at 11:30pm. But what about policy? What about actual impact on people’s lives? That stuff’s boring, I guess.
And the echo chambers! God, the echo chambers. Everyone’s just talking to themselves, reinforcing their own biases. It’s like we’ve forgotten how to have a conversation with people who disagree with us.
A Quick Digression: Travel and Culture
Speaking of conversations, I was talking to my friend Sarah the other day. She’s a travel writer, and she was telling me about this cultural travel experiences guide she’s been using. It’s all about getting off the beaten path, talking to locals, learning about their lives. ‘It’s the opposite of how we cover travel in the news,’ she said. ‘We’re always talking about the same old places, the same old stories.’
She’s got a point. The news is stuck in a rut, just like travel writing. Maybe we should take a leaf out of her book. Get out of our comfort zones, talk to real people, cover real stories.
But Back to the Main Point
I’m not sure how to fix the news. I’m not sure anyone is. But I know it starts with admitting there’s a problem. And calling out the nonsense when we see it.
So here’s to the good journalists out there, still fighting the good fight. Keep at it. And to the rest of you—honestly, do better.
About the Author: Jane McAllister has been a senior editor at the Edinburgh Daily for over two decades. She’s seen the industry change, not always for the better, and isn’t afraid to say so. When she’s not editing, you can find her hiking in the Scottish Highlands or arguing about politics with her cat, Whiskers.
