The News Media Crisis: How Our Broken System Affects Trust and Truth
At its core, today's news media landscape presents significant challenges for truth-seeking individuals. The constant stream of information, declining journalistic standards, and our own cognitive biases make it increasingly difficult to stay well-informed without becoming overwhelmed or misled.
Three practical steps can help navigate this broken media environment:
- Reduce News Consumption
- Limit daily news intake to brief, focused sessions
- Start your day with prayer and reflection instead of news
- Consider following John Huey's example (former Time editor-in-chief) by going on a "news diet"
- Prioritize Bible reading over news consumption
- Choose Quality Sources
- Select a few trustworthy news organizations rather than consuming multiple conflicting sources
- Let reliable outlets do the fact-checking and verification
- Focus on depth rather than breadth of coverage
- Strengthen Your Spiritual Foundation
- Prioritize spiritual growth over news consumption
- Follow David's example (1 Samuel 30) by strengthening yourself in God during challenging times
- Develop personal density through reading history, literature, and scripture
- View news through the lens of gospel truth rather than vice versa
Book cover: Growing Together
The key is not to completely disconnect from current events, but to maintain a healthy balance that prioritizes spiritual growth while staying reasonably informed about world events. This approach helps develop wisdom and resilience while avoiding the anxiety and confusion that often accompanies excessive news consumption.
Mother Teresa's example proves instructive: by focusing less on news and more on what truly matters, we can paradoxically become better informed about the world's real conditions and needs.
