Confession Time: I Have No Idea What I’m Doing
Look, I’ve been in this game for 22 years. I started back in 1998, when the internet was still a baby and we actually had to gasp talk to people on the phone to get information. My name’s Linda, by the way. Linda Harper. I’ve worked at places you’ve heard of, places you haven’t, and some that probably shouldn’t have been allowed to print. And honestly? I’m not sure we know what we’re doing.
I mean, think about it. We’re supposed to be the gatekeepers of truth, the arbiters of fact. But half the time, we’re just kinda guessing. We take a press release, slap a headline on it, and call it news. And nobody questions it. It’s completley bonkers if you ask me.
Last Tuesday, I was at a conference in Austin (yeah, one of those where they serve free whiskey and everyone pretends to care about blockchain). I was talking to this guy, let’s call him Marcus, who used to work at the New York Times. He told me straight up, “Linda, half of what we printed was just us trying to fill space.” Which… yeah. Fair enough.
But Here’s the Thing…
It’s not all bad. I mean, we do get it right sometimes. Like, a lot. But the system is broken. We’re all so focused on being first than accurate. And it’s a problem. A big one.
Take this story I worked on about three months ago. We got a tip about some big shot politician having an affair. So what do we do? We chase it. Hard. We call everyone we know, dig through trash cans (not kidding), and generally make asses of ourselves. And for what? To be the first to print it? To get that sweet, sweet traffic? Yeah, maybe. But at what cost?
I remember talking to my colleague, Dave, about it. He said, “Linda, we’re not journalists anymore. We’re just content providers.” And he’s not wrong. We’re so focused on the bottom line that we forget why we’re here. To inform. To educate. To hold the powerful accountable.
And Don’t Even Get Me Started on Social Media
Oh, you wanted me to get started? Fine. You asked for it.
Social media is a mess. A complete and utter mess. We’re all so worried about getting likes and shares that we forget what we’re actually supposed to be doing. We’re supposed to be reporting the news, not making it up as we go along. But no, we’d rather post a half-baked tweet and watch the retweets roll in.
I was at a bar with some friends last month, and we got to talking about this. One of them, let’s call her Sarah, said, “You guys are worse than the politicians.” And honestly? She might have a point. We’re all so desperate to be relevant that we’ll print anything. And it’s a slippery slope, folks. One day you’re reporting on a minor scandal, the next you’re spreading fake news.
But here’s the thing: we can fix it. We can be better. We just have to want to. And that starts with admitting that we’re not perfect. That we make mistakes. That sometimes, we just don’t know what the hell we’re doing.
And that’s okay. Because at least we’re honest about it. At least we’re trying. Right?
Wait, What Were We Talking About?
Oh yeah, the news industry. Look, I could go on and on about this. But I won’t. Because frankly, I’m tired. Tired of the lies, the misinformation, the constant chase for clicks. It’s exhausting. And it’s not why I got into this business.
I got into this business because I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to inform people. To educate them. To help them understand the world a little better. And yeah, maybe I’m a little jaded now. Maybe I’ve seen too much. But I still believe in what we do. I still believe that journalism matters.
But we gotta change. We gotta stop chasing clicks and start chasing the truth. We gotta stop making it up as we go and start actually reporting. And we gotta stop being afraid to admit when we’re wrong.
It’s not gonna be easy. It’s gonna take time. And it’s gonna take a lot of hard work. But it’s worth it. Because at the end of the day, that’s what we’re here for. To tell the truth. Even if it’s inconvenient. Even if it’s unpopular. Even if it’s hard.
So let’s do it. Let’s be better. Let’s be honest. Let’s be journalists. Because honestly, the world needs us to be.
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Oh, and one more thing. If you’re a journalist, and you’re reading this, do better. Be better. Because the world is watching. And honestly, we’re all counting on you.
Author Bio: Linda Harper has been a senior editor at various publications for over two decades. She’s worked at places like the Austin Chronicle, the Houston Press, and a few others she’d rather not mention. She lives in Austin with her cat, Mr. Whiskers, and spends her free time complaining about the state of journalism and drinking cheap whiskey.
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