How To Succeed In Journalism
Your guide to minimum effort for maximum damage
Today we live in a world of content abundance. Tens of thousands of hours of English-language content are uploaded every hour; factor in other major languages and the total approaches one hundred thousand hours of new content every sixty minutes. In our 7/24 always-on smartphone-addicted world in which there are only so many eyeballs to be grabbed and briefly monetized, instant is the only game in town.
The “news” organizations understand this very well. They know they are in competition with a limitless tsunami of content ranging from mindless TikTok clips to inane conspiracy theories raging across social media. In order to survive in such a world it’s necessary to adapt and give audiences what they want, which is: empty sensationalism simplified to the greatest-possible degree.
Most people don’t really want to be informed. What they want is merely the illusion of “knowing what’s going on” while not being required to attempt to think about anything. Just as ordinary people cram endless toxic slop down their throats, they also cram their brains with mental effluvia. Junk food and junk content is just so much easier to consume than anything that’s really healthy and useful. Journalists and editors know that complexity is out, soundbites are in. If a topic can’t be…
