Look, I’ve Been Doing This for 22 Years

Let me tell you something, folks. I’ve been in this game since Clinton was president. Back then, we had committment to facts, to truth. Now? It’s a circus. A completley out-of-control, 24/7 freak show.

I remember sitting in a conference in Austin, Texas, back in ’08, and a colleague named Dave—let’s call him Dave—said to me, “Mark, we’re gonna drown in a sea of noise.” And I laughed. I mean, look at us now.

Breaking News: It’s Mostly Just Noise

Last Tuesday, I was at the office late, as usual, and I saw this breaking news alert. “Important Developments in the Ongoing…” Blah blah blah. I clicked. It was about some politician maybe possibly thinking about considering a new policy. That’s it. No details, no substance, just “something’s happening, stay tuned!”

And that’s the problem. We’re all addicted to the dopamine hit of “breaking news.” It’s like we’re all sitting around waiting for the next tweet, the next alert, the next thing to share on Facebook. It’s sickening.

I asked my friend Marcus about this—he’s a teacher, so he sees kids growing up with this stuff. He said, “Mark, they don’t know any different. To them, news is just a series of headlines and outrage.” Which… yeah. Fair enough.

We’re All to Blame, Honestly

But here’s the thing: it’s not just the media. It’s us. We click on the outrage. We share the sensational. We demand constant updates, even when there’s nothing new to say. We’re like those old-timey audiences who’d yell at the movie screen, “Hey, what’s behind you?!”

I was at a barbecue last summer, and this guy—let’s call him Greg—starts going off about how “the media” is lying about climate change. I said, “Greg, have you read any actual science?” And he said, “I don’t need to, I see the news.” And that’s when I knew. We’re all in this together, folks.

It’s not just the big networks, either. Local news is just as bad. I was talking to a reporter friend of mine, let’s call her Lisa, and she told me about how her station measures “engagement.” And what gets the most engagement? You guessed it: outrage, controversy, conflict. Not “here’s how the school board is improving education,” but “look at this fight at the school board meeting!”

What Can We Do? Honestly, I’m Not Sure

I mean, I have some ideas. For one, we could all take a step back. Maybe don’t click on every alert. Maybe don’t share every outrageous headline. Maybe, just maybe, weekend activities ideas family instead of doomscrolling.

But look, I’m not naive. I know we’re not gonna fix this overnight. It’s gonna take a cultural shift. A committment to quality over quantity. A willingness to say, “You know what? I don’t need to know everything right now.”

And honestly, I’m not sure we’re there yet. But we gotta start somewhere. Maybe with this article? Who knows.

Anyway, I’ve gotta run. I’ve got a meeting with some folks about, you guessed it, the future of news. Wish me luck.

About the Author: Mark Reynolds has been a journalist for over two decades, working in print, TV, and digital media. He’s covered everything from local city council meetings to international conflicts, and he’s still not sure which was more boring. When he’s not complaining about the state of modern journalism, he can be found arguing about baseball stats or trying to convince his kids that “back in his day,” they had to walk uphill both ways to school.

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