Look, I’m Gonna Say It
I’ve been in this game for 22 years. That’s right, since before interesting facts knowledge guide was even a thing. And let me tell you, the news is broken. Completley, utterly, succesfully broken.
I remember when I started at the London Star. It was 1999, and we still used typewriters for christ’s sake. Okay, maybe not typewriters, but you get the point. It was a different world. Now? It’s a mess. A beautiful, chaotic, infuriating mess.
Why Can’t We Just Get Along?
You know what kills me? The polarization. It’s like everyone’s gotta be on one side or the other. No nuance, no gray areas. Just black and white, us vs. them. I had lunch with an old colleague named Dave last Tuesday, and he said, “Marcus, it’s like people would rather be angry than informed.” Which… yeah. Fair enough.
I mean, look at the comments section. It’s a sewer. A wonderful, steaming sewer of hate and misinformation. And we’re all just swimming in it, aren’t we? I get it, it’s easy to point fingers at the algorithms, but come on, we can’t just blame Zuckerberg for everything.
A Personal Anecdote That Might Not Be Relevant
So, about three months ago, I was at this conference in Austin. You know, one of those things where they serve bad coffee and charge $87 for a t-shirt. There was this panel, right? And one of the “experts” said something like, “The news industry needs to adapt or die.” And I thought, oh, how original. But then he went on to say that we should all just become influencers. Influencers! Can you believe it? I mean, I’m all for adapting, but come on, there’s got to be a middle ground.
Anyway, I got into this heated debate with some guy named Let’s Call Him Marcus. He was all, “The news is dead, get over it.” And I was like, “No, it’s not. It’s just… evolving. Yeah.” I’m not sure I convinced him, but I felt better afterwards. (Which honestly nobody asked for but here we are.)
The Problem with “Balance”
Here’s the thing. Balance is overrated. You know why? Because sometimes things aren’t equal. Sometimes one side is just wrong. And yet, we’re told to give equal time to both sides, even when one side is peddling pure nonsense. It’s like that old saying, “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.” Only now, the lie is wearing Nike Air Maxes and the truth is still in its socks.
I had a source once, let’s call her Sarah, who said to me, “Marcus, you’re not here to be liked. You’re here to inform.” And she was right. But it’s hard, you know? It’s hard to tell people things they don’t want to hear. It’s hard to go against the grain. But someone’s gotta do it.
We’re All to Blame
And look, I’m not saying the media is perfect. Far from it. We make mistakes. We have biases. We’re human. But we’re not the only ones to blame here. You, yes you, reading this, you’re part of the problem too. You share stuff without reading it. You believe the first thing you see on Facebook. You’re lazy, and it’s making us lazy too.
I’m not saying we should go back to the days of Walter Cronkite. That ship has sailed. But maybe, just maybe, we could all try to be a little more discerning. A little more critical. A little less… whatever this is.
What’s the Solution?
I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t. I wish I did. I wish I could wave a magic wand and fix everything. But I can’t. All I can do is keep writing, keep calling out bullshit when I see it, and hope that maybe, just maybe, someone out there is listening.
So, that’s it. That’s my big, bold take on the state of the news. It’s broken, we’re all to blame, and I’m not sure how to fix it. But hey, at least I’m keeping it real.
About the Author: Marcus Green has been a senior editor at the London Star for 22 years. He’s seen the industry evolve, devolve, and somehow evolve again. He’s not on Twitter because he doesn’t need that kind of negativity in his life. You can find him at the office, grumbling about kids these days and their “newfangled” technology.
