Tuesday, November 23, 2021

Missing the Big Story


One of the things I like about the news is that it doesn’t stick around. It comes and goes rather quickly; once it loses its shock value, it’s a lot like fish — best when fresh; later on not so much so.

But even though the news itself may come and go, the people who bring it to you remain.

Nieman Reports is out with an opinion piece by HuffPost editor-in-chief Danielle Benton that points out that “The press can’t afford to fall into disarray and depression while reporting on the collapsing world around us.”

This has always been true of journalists but the present context is notable because our own profession — journalism — is stuck in a prolonged state of depression from which some may reasonably conclude it will never recover.

The problem is not just that there are very few jobs for reporters and editors; it is also that the world is flooded with disinformation, lies, conspiracy thinking and outright attempts to undermine those who do seek to tell the truth about important matters.

In public life, virtually no one has enough credibility to be respected as an authority on anything any longer. There really are no “experts” left with a few exceptions here and there. 

In addition, the very companies that employ journalists who seek to get to the root of these issues often seem to not have a clue about just how much the world around them has changed, especially the digital world. Or if they do, they don’t know what to do about it.

Thus, these “legacy” media organizations are seen by many people of all political persuasions as part of the problem rather than a solution. When I curate the news, I rely on what are considered the leading journalism organizations I can locate to pass on each day’s headlines.

But at the same time, I am constantly struck by how little any of those organizations are doing about the Big Story themselves. 

Tuesday Headlines

 

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