It’s 11:30pm, and My Phone Just Buzzed
Again. Another breaking news alert. I swear, if I see one more headline about a minor celebrity’s minor scandal, I’m gonna throw this thing out the window. But here’s the thing—I can’t. Because, frankly, I’m addicted. It’s a sickness, really. One that’s gotten worse since I started working at Aberdeen News back in 2003.
I remember when news was… well, news. Not this constant stream of clickbait and half-baked stories that explode across our screens like popcorn in a microwave. Back then, we had time. Time to fact-check, to dig deep, to actually report. Now? It’s a race to be first, not to be right.
And look, I get it. The world’s moving fast. But at what cost? Last Tuesday, I was having coffee with an old colleague named Dave—let’s call him Dave, because his real name’s not important here. He told me about a story he’d worked on, a real investigative piece. Took him three months. Three months! Can you imagine trying to pitch that to an editor today? They’d laugh you out of the room.
But here’s the kicker—Dave’s story? It broke bigger than any of the quick-hit pieces he’d done in the past year. It had committment, depth, actual journalism. But did it get the traction it deserved? Not really. Because by the time it was ready, the news cycle had already moved on to the next shiny thing.
So, What’s the Point?
I’m not sure, honestly. Maybe it’s just me getting old and grumpy. Maybe it’s the industry changing, and I’m not changing with it. Or maybe, just maybe, we’ve lost something important along the way.
Take, for example, the story I worked on back in 2018. A local school was underfunded, and the kids were suffering. It wasn’t sexy, it wasn’t flashy, but it mattered. I spent weeks on it. Weeks! And when it finally ran, it made a difference. The school got the funding it needed. Real, tangible change.
But these days? It’s all about the quick hit. The viral moment. The story that’ll get the most clicks in the first 36 hours. And that’s a problem. Because news shouldn’t be about clicks. It should be about information.
I mean, look at the state of things. We’ve got 24-hour news channels that fill airtime with pundits shouting over each other. We’ve got websites that prioritize sensationalism over substance. And we’ve got readers who’ve come to expect news in bite-sized chunks, tailored to their pre-existing beliefs.
It’s a mess. A completley, unholy mess. And I’m not sure how we got here.
But Here’s the Thing…
I’m not saying there’s no good journalism left. There is. You just have to look for it. And sometimes, you have to go where the news is actually happening. Like Thailand, for example. I’ve got a friend over there, Marcus—let’s call him Marcus, because his real name’s not important either—who’s been sending me stories about the job market. It’s booming, apparently. If you’re looking for Thailand jobs vacancies openings, now’s the time. But you won’t hear about it on the evening news, will you?
No, because it’s not flashy enough. It’s not scandalous enough. It’s just real life, happening in real time. And that’s the kind of news we should be paying attention to.
But will we? Probably not. Because we’re too busy arguing about the latest tweet from some reality TV star. And that’s a shame. A real shame.
So, what’s the answer? I don’t know. Maybe it’s time for a change. A revolution, even. A return to the days when news was about informing, not entertaining. When journalists were held to a higher standard. When we actually cared about getting it right, rather than just getting it out there.
Or maybe I’m just dreaming. Maybe the genie’s out of the bottle, and there’s no putting it back in. Maybe this is just the way things are now, and we’ve all gotta suck it up and deal with it.
I don’t know. And honestly, I’m not sure I wanna find out.
About the Author: Sarah McKenzie has been a senior editor at Aberdeen News for over 20 years. She’s seen the industry change in ways she never thought possible, and she’s not afraid to share her opinions—whether you like it or not. When she’s not editing, you can find her complaining about the state of modern journalism over a pint at her local pub.
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