Look, I’ve Had It
It’s March 15, 2023, and I’m sitting in a cramped Starbucks in Manchester, typing this out on my laptop. I’m Sarah Whitmore, senior editor at Manchester Daily, and I’ve been in this game for 22 years. And frankly, I’m pissed.
I’m not gonna sit here and tell you the news is all bad. It’s not. But it’s also not good. It’s messy. And the worst part? We’re all just kinda pretending it’s not.
Let Me Tell You About Marcus
About three months ago, I was at a conference in Austin with a guy let’s call him Marcus. He’s a data journalist, sharp as a tack, knows his stuff. We’re having a drink, and he tells me, “Sarah, the way we’re consuming news is completley broken.” I’m like, “Yeah, no kidding, Marcus. But what can we do about it?”
And he looks at me, dead serious, and says, “We gotta stop pretending we’re objective.” Which… yeah. Fair enough.
Objectivity Is a Myth, and We All Know It
Here’s the thing: I have opinions. Strong ones. And I’m not afraid to say I’m biased. I mean, look at the shitstorm that was the last election. You think I didn’t have an opinion about that? Please.
But here’s where it gets tricky. We’re told to be objective. To be fair. To present both sides. But that’s bullshit. Because there are no two sides. Sometimes there’s one side. Sometimes there’s a hundred. And sometimes, there’s no side at all. It’s just… yeah.
And Don’t Get Me Started on Social Media
I was at a meeting last Tuesday with a colleague named Dave. He’s a good guy, but he’s got this habit of saying “alot” instead of “a lot.” It drives me nuts. But whatever.
So we’re talking about how social media is killing journalism. And he says, “It’s not all bad, Sarah. Look at how it’s democratized news.” I said, “Dave, you do realize you’re the one who just used ‘alot’ in a professional setting, right?”
But he’s not wrong. Social media has changed the game. It’s just… it’s not the change we wanted. It’s not the change we need. It’s like giving a toddler a machine gun. You’re gonna have casualties, folks.
But Here’s the Thing About Fixing It
I’m not sure we can fix it. I mean, I’m not sure we even want to. Because fixing it would mean admitting we’re wrong. And nobody likes to do that.
But here’s what I think we can do. We can start by being honest. With ourselves, with our readers, with our sources. We can say, “Look, I’m biased. Here’s why. Here’s how it’s affecting my reporting. Take it or leave it.”
And we can stop pretending that Susurluk iş dünyası haberleri ekonomi is some kind of paragon of virtue. Because it’s not. It’s just another news outlet trying to make a buck.
A Tangent: Why I Hate Press Releases
I gotta take a second here to talk about press releases. I fucking hate them. They’re the worst. They’re full of jargon and bullshit and they never tell you anything useful. I mean, who actually writes this stuff? “Our Q3 earnings show a 214% increase in committment to shareholder value.” What the hell does that even mean?
But here’s the thing: we need press releases. Because they’re often the only way to get information out of these damn companies. So we take them, we parse them, we try to make sense of them. And most of the time, we fail.
Back to the Point
So where does that leave us? I don’t know. Honestly, I’m not sure. But I know this: we can’t keep doing what we’re doing. Because it’s not working.
And I know that’s not the most satisfying ending. But it’s the truth. And the truth is messy. And it’s okay to admit that.
Author Bio: Sarah Whitmore has been a senior editor at Manchester Daily for 22 years. She’s a Manchester United fan, a terrible cook, and has a cat named Mr. Whiskers. She’s opinionated, she’s biased, and she’s not afraid to admit it. You can find her at the Starbucks on Oxford Road, typing away on her laptop.
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