We need to accept that the 24-Hour News Cycle does us more harm than good.

Our society just isn't equipped to maintain it while keeping it useful.

We've been conditioned to feel like the news helps us, but that assumes information is what's being broadcast. Not just "both-sides" sound bites rationalizing every option.

News is supposed to keep us properly informed, not seek justification.

Others have been saying this for a while, this is a great thread on this issue from @sarahkendzior. https://twitter.com/sarahkendzior/status/1231376924741644288?s=19

Before this crisis diversity in journalism was already an issue. With tons of outlets in financial trouble and freelancers facing ruin, this will only get worse. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/11/02/newsroom-employees-are-less-diverse-than-u-s-workers-overall/

This need for constant updates takes up a lot of resources that smaller media companies don't have. As they close, the conglomerates continue to neuter the coverage.

This pandemic has demonstrated just how dangerous this model is. We've turned science partisan.

We demand constant updates from journalists about things that are way outside their field of expertise.

Most try their best, I truly believe that, but there's only so much a two-hour cram session can teach you about something as complicated as epidemiology.

Here's a little experiment. Find three articles from a news outlet you trust, about an industry you worked in for years.

See anything they misunderstood? Not necessarily a mistake, but an assumption that over generalizes?

That's our fault.

If we want thorough analysis and input from various subject matter experts, we can't expect detailed articles every hour.

Even if journalists could produce that much flawless content, most people wouldn't read past the headline anyway. We're all too busy.

There's a real pressure to stay 'informed' during a crisis, but don't absorb noise for no reason.

I spent two days off Twitter and I don't even know what the laws are in my city right now.

Isn't that a little crazy? Shouldn't we all slow down just a bit?

Are we really asking people to maintain a constant drip of changing laws, changing health recommendations, changing economy, and their own changing lives?

No wonder most people don't read past the first paragraph.

There's actually studies on this, if the evidence all around us wasn't enough. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/nosacredcows/2018/09/study-confirms-most-people-share-articles-based-only-on-headlines/

Let's add this up.

People are demanding perfect content, on complex topics, constantly.

Because it is being produced constantly, there is more content than we can absorb in full.

To cope, we're just taking in snippets. The entire system doesn't make sense at all.

Think about this.

Rushed journalists produce articles that lack details. Rushed readers glace at the headlines only, losing even more details.

The public discourse goes through so many filters already, if we're glancing as it zooms by how much gets lost?

Several layers of distillation can have a substantial impact on clarity.

I'm not pretending to have any answers. That's the point.

We hear way too many educated guesses, even from well meaning people.

Let's slow down, step back from the cycle, and give ourselves a little more breathing room.

After being cooped up like this, we'll need the space.