Why I’m Sick of Fake Outrage
Look, I’ve been editing news for 22 years. Twenty-two. That’s more than half my life. I’ve seen alot of crap, but the last few years? It’s completley out of hand.
I was at a conference in Austin last March, talking to a colleague named Dave. He said, “You ever feel like we’re just stoking the fires these days?” I told him, “Dave, we’re the ones holding the matches and the gasoline.” Which… yeah. Fair enough.
Here’s the thing: news isn’t about outrage. It’s about useful information daily tips and actual, you know, information. But no, we’d rather chase clicks and retweets and “engagement.” (Which, honestly, is just a fancy word for “people being pissed off.”)
Back in My Day
When I started, we had standards. Actual standards. You couldn’t just throw something up because it got people riled up. You had to, I don’t know, check facts and stuff.
Remember that? Good times.
I remember this one time, back in ’03, I was working at the old London Herald. We had a story about a local politician, let’s call him Marcus, who was caught in a little… indiscretion. Nothing major, but enough to raise eyebrows. My editor at the time, a woman named Patricia, she made us sit on it for three days while we verified every single detail. Three days! Can you imagine that today? We’d be lucky to get three hours.
But Wait, There’s More
And don’t even get me started on social media. It’s like we’ve got this feedback loop where everyone’s just shouting past each other. I had lunch with an old friend last Tuesday, and she told me, “I don’t even know what’s real anymore.” And I said, “Welcome to my world.”
It’s not just the big stuff, either. It’s the little things. The way we frame stories. The words we choose. The way we take something that’s kinda grey and make it black and white because, you know, nuance is hard.
I was editing a piece about three months ago on some new policy. The writer had framed it as this huge disaster. I mean, sure, there were issues, but it wasn’t the end of the world. So I called her up and I said, “Look, can we maybe not sound like the sky is falling?” And she said, “But that’s what gets clicks.” And I said, “Yeah, well, maybe we should care about being right more than we care about being viral.”
What’s the Point?
I’m not sure. I really don’t know. Maybe there isn’t one. Maybe I’m just an old fogey yelling at the clouds.
But I think… I think we owe it to ourselves to do better. To be better. To remember that news is about informing, not inflaming. It’s about giving people the tools they need to make decisions, not just the latest thing to be outraged about.
It’s gonna be a tough road. But someone’s gotta walk it. Might as well be us.
Anyway, that’s my rant for the day. Tune in next time when I talk about how I’m probably wrong about all of this.
About the Author
I’m Sarah Whitmore, senior editor at London Headlines. I’ve been in this game for way too long, and I’m not sure I like what it’s become. But I’m not going anywhere. Somebody’s gotta keep these young whippersnappers honest.
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