Look, I’ve Seen Some Stuff
I’ve been in this game for 22 years. That’s 22 years of deadlines, of chasing stories, of dealing with idiots (mostly editors, honestly). I started at a small paper in Ohio, moved to a wire service, and now I’m here, writing for Defense News. I’ve seen alot, and frankly, modern journalism is a completley different beast than what I started with.
It’s not better. It’s not worse. It’s just… different. And honestly? I’m not sure we’re all succesfully making the aquisition of this new world.
Let me tell you about last Tuesday. I was at a conference in Austin, Texas. (Why Austin? Because everyone’s in Austin now, apparently.) I ran into an old friend, let’s call him Marcus. We were grabbing coffee at this place on 5th, you know the one with the weird art on the wall?
Marcus said to me, “You know what’s killing us, don’t you?”
I said, “What, Marcus?”
He said, “This idea that everything’s gotta be instant. That every little thing is a crisis. That we can’t just report, we gotta be activists too.”
Which… yeah. Fair enough.
But Here’s the Thing
I get it. The world’s moving fast. We’ve got algorithms determining what’s news, not editors. We’ve got social media driving the conversation, not journalists. And we’ve got this weird pressure to be everything to everyone.
I mean, I remember when I started, you had your beat, you did your reporting, you wrote your story. That was it. Now? You gotta tweet, you gotta post, you gotta engage. It’s exhausting.
And don’t even get me started on the whole “citizen journalist” thing. Look, I’m all for democracy and all that, but honestly? Most people don’t know how to write a proper lead, let alone cover a story fairly.
I was talking to a colleague named Dave about this the other day. We were at a bar, having a drink after work. (Don’t tell my editor.) He said, “You know what the problem is? Nobody reads anymore.”
I said, “What do you mean?”
He said, “They scan. They glance. They read the headline and move on. They don’t commit to a story. They don’t think about it. They just consume and move on.”
And honestly? He’s probably right.
But Let’s Talk About the Good Stuff
It’s not all bad. I mean, look at the tools we have now. I can file a story from anywhere, from my phone even. I can edit video, I can record audio, I can do all this stuff that would’ve taken a team of people when I started.
And the access! I mean, I can reach out to someone on the other side of the world and get a response in minutes. It’s amazing.
But it’s also a curse. Because now everyone expects that. They expect instant responses, instant news, instant everything. And it’s just not always possible.
I was working on a story about three months ago. It was a big story, something I’d been working on for weeks. And I remember, I was up until 11:30pm one night, trying to get a source to respond. And I’m thinking, “Why am I doing this? Why am I killing myself for a story that might not even matter tomorrow?”
But that’s the thing, isn’t it? We do it because we care. We do it because we believe in it. We do it because, honestly, we can’t imagine doing anything else.
A Quick Digression: The Newsletter Obsession
Oh, and let’s talk about newsletters. Because honestly, I don’t get the obsession. I mean, I get it, but I don’t get it. You know what I mean?
Everyone’s starting a newsletter now. “Subscribe to my newsletter,” “Check out my newsletter,” “Newsletter this, newsletter that.” It’s like everyone’s trying to be the next big thing, the next big influencer. And honestly? Most of them are just regurgitating the same news we’re all reporting.
But hey, what do I know? Maybe I’m just bitter because I’ve never started a newsletter. Maybe I’m just bitter because I’m old and stuck in my ways.
Or maybe I’m just bitter because I’ve seen too many people chase the shiny new thing, only to realize it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
So What’s the Answer?
I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t. I think we just gotta keep doing what we’re doing. We gotta keep reporting, keep writing, keep trying to make a difference.
And we gotta remember why we started. We started because we care. We started because we believe in the power of a good story. We started because we believe in the truth.
So yeah, modern journalism is a mess. It’s chaotic, it’s confusing, it’s overwhelming. But it’s also exciting. It’s also full of opportunity. It’s also, honestly, the best job in the world.
So let’s keep at it. Let’s keep chasing stories, keep asking questions, keep holding power to account. Let’s keep being journalists.
And if you’re looking for a business news update, well, that’s what you’re gonna get. Because that’s what we do.
And honestly? That’s what the world needs.
About the Author: Jane Doe has been a journalist for 22 years, working at various publications before joining Defense News. She’s a firm believer in the power of a good story and the importance of holding power to account. She’s also a bit of a grump, but in a lovable way.
Readers interested in this subject may also want to explore Die Welt in Aufruhr: Warum wir for additional perspectives.
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