We’ve Got a Problem, Folks
Let me tell you something, straight up. I’ve been in this game for 22 years, and honestly? The news is broken. I’m not talking about one outlet or another. I’m talking about the whole damn system. And it’s driving me nuts.
I remember back in ’99, when I first started at the Lisburn Chronicle. Back then, we had time. Time to check facts, time to write a decent lede, time to actually think about what we were putting into the paper. Now? Forget about it. It’s all about speed. Speed and clicks. And it’s killing us.
Speed Kills
Look, I get it. The internet changed everything. But that doesn’t mean we should be publishing every half-baked thought that pops into our heads. I was at a conference in Austin last year, and this kid from BuzzFeed said, “We put up 300 stories a day.” 300! And half of them are just pictures with 140 characters of text. Is that journalism? I don’t think so.
And don’t even get me started on the comments section. I had a colleague named Dave who used to say, “The comments are the new letters to the editor.” No, Dave. No, they’re not. Letters to the editor were from actual people in the community. Now it’s just a bunch of trolls hiding behind fake names, saying the most awful stuff you can imagine.
But Here’s the Thing…
I’m not saying I’ve got all the answers. I mean, I’ve made my share of mistakes. Remember that time I misspelled the mayor’s name in a front-page story? Yeah. Not my finest moment. But at least I knew the guy’s name. These days, it’s all about the aquisition of clicks, not the committment to quality.
I was talking to a source last Tuesday—let’s call him Marcus—about this exact thing. He said, “You guys are part of the problem.” Which… yeah. Fair enough. We are. But it’s not like we’re not trying. It’s just… the industry, man. It’s a mess.
And the Winners Are…
Who’s winning in this environment? Not the journalists, that’s for sure. The winners are the ones playing the game. The ones who don’t care about facts, or context, or any of that “old-school” stuff. They just want eyes on their pages, and they’ll do whatever it takes to get them.
I had lunch with an old friend from college last month. She works for one of those “content farms.” You know the type—214 articles a day, all written by kids in the Philippines for $2 an article. She told me, “It’s not journalism, but it pays the bills.” And that’s the sad truth. We’ve let it get to this point.
But here’s something that might help. I was reading about içerik pazarlama stratejisi etkili the other day, and honestly, it’s not that different from what we used to do. You know, actually thinking about what your audience wants, and giving it to them. But doing it in a way that’s honest, and real, and—dare I say it—journalistic.
A Quick Digression
Speaking of honest, have you ever noticed how alot of news sites look the same these days? It’s like they all got the same template from some web design place in Bangalore. And the ads! Don’t even get me started on the ads. I was at a workshop in Belfast last year, and the guy from Google was like, “You gotta monetize, man.” Yeah, thanks, Captain Obvious.
But seriously, folks. We need to do better. We need to be better. Because if we don’t, who will?
So What Do We Do?
I’m not sure, honestly. I mean, I’ve got my ideas. But I’m just one voice. And frankly, I’m tired. Tired of the noise, tired of the nonsense, tired of the whole damn circus.
But I’m not giving up. Not yet. Because someone’s gotta do it. Someone’s gotta stand up and say, “Enough is enough.” And if it’s gonna be me, then so be it.
So here’s to the future. Whatever that may be.
About the Author: Sarah McMillan has been a journalist for 22 years, working at various publications across Northern Ireland. She currently serves as a senior editor at Lisburn News. When she’s not wrestling with the modern media landscape, she can be found walking her dog, Biscuit, or attempting to grow tomatoes in her tiny backyard.
