My December to Remember: Day Sixteen
News: Softbank’s CEO announces $100B investment in the U.S. at Mar-a-Lago.
Israel drops “earthquake bomb” on Syria.
The Syrian prisoner ‘rescued’ by CNN is reportedly notorious torturer for the Assad regime.
Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland resigns, PM Trudeau reportedly considering resignation.
No Confidence vote on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, triggering new election.
Three dead in Madison, Wisconsin Christian school shooting, shooter reportedly girl who said she was a boy, manifesto shared to Google Drive.
I’ve covered a fair bit of breaking news in my day. The Aurora shooting, Sandy Hook, the Bataclan terror attacks, The Mar-a-lago raid, October 7th, the Russia-Ukraine war, plenty of elections, the Las Vegas concert shooting, hurricanes, blizzards; You can name virtually any major news story happening since 2008 and I’ve been there. By choice. I keep forgetting that part, as I act like I’m here in the newsroom against my will.
There are times I actually prefer when news breaks, as the entire team has to act as a unit and get the best and most up-to-date information on your screens. But there’s that initial onset when you see the alert which can cause the adrenaline rush. Usually it’s one wire crossing showing an urgent matter. Perhaps it comes in the form of an email. But the moment it happens, everything changes. And I predict we’re going to see a lot more headlines that stop you in your tracks, knowing adjustment to your whole routine is coming.
Most of the time in business news, the breaking stories we get are about deals being made, CEOs resigning, or major shifts in company structuring. Things that don’t necessarily affect the average everyday American. On the regular news side of things, a different responsibility needs to be carried. You’ve got to report on things currently happening that could involve physical safety, or affect livelihoods. Each facet of news has its own angle it needs to cover, and I want to believe these networks can do it successfully.
However I don’t blame folks out there for losing trust in the media, as the legacies have not been actual news agencies for some time it seems. It’s like advocacy-fests instead of reporting, opinion injected into facts, and legal lying about the most important details. And the more these newspeople act like they’re the only ones who can dole out the weight of the world, the less anyone will want to pay attention to anything they have to say.
Still, I wonder what will be that one headline that brings all news agencies together to finally report accurately, as there will be no other choice but to do just that.
Like I said, I choose to be in this soul-crushing industry. It gets hard not only watching all the horrible things that happen across the world, but to rehash it and write about it as well. But it’s my choice. When it comes time for me to leave, I won’t go out with one drop of an urgent wire. It’ll be a process. My two weeks will go in and we’ll just be on countdown mode, no jarring discovery leading to panic and stress. But in the meantime, here I am, waiting for the other shoe to drop, putting everything on another plane of existence, shifting the timeline we’ll practically be forced to follow. The industry’s Big One. It’s coming, and it may not just only be once.
All I can promise you is I’ll report responsibly for as long as I’m here, as I’m already in it to win it. A common phrase used in newsrooms is we’re “livin’ the dream,” said sarcastically. Well, my dream may actually come true once I see that wire cross. No fake news involved here.
