I’m sipping on a Egg Nog Latte at the moment. Warm, spicy, festive. How would the media report this event? Depends on whom they are trying to reach. Consider the following headlines –

Ignorant consumers continue to use foam cups despite landfill issues

Fancy city folk celebrate holidays with expensive fancy coffee but pay workers only a minimum wage

Starbucks taking over the world. Where’s my Dunkies?

Heathen Westerners celebrate holidays with fancy coffee but no sign of Christmas. They want to destroy Jesus, the reason for the season.

Coffee prices rise as severe weather destroys crops

Which of these would you click on? Or maybe none? Why?

Would you just share if the headline matches your thinking without reading the article? (It’s soooo tempting :0)

What is the point of the news?

Shocking headlines are catchy, headlines that support my beliefs are satisfying and headlines that lie create a misinformed population. All of it is a problem. We need to move back to trusted news sources. These are likely boring news sources with boring headlines. Boring because they deal in facts and reality which is not as exciting as our dopamine craving brains want it to be.

Much has been done to bring doubt to reliable news sources. If you look closely it is usually based in because-I-say-so talk. There might be other sources cited but they are usually websites where people just repeat – because-I-say-so. “Facts” are made up to support their agenda.

Take a very close look at which headlines you click on, the website or news organization from which they come. Look for organizations that follow journalistic ethics. Watch, read, subscribe and demand they shift away from sensationalism, then write the editors with your ideas and wants for factual news. Keep them honest by making comments and sending emails any time you see a problem.

What newspapers and journalistic outlets do you subscribe to and why?