Readers Wish Journalists Would Stop Doing This One Thing….

In the bustling newsroom, the likes of Huffpost, Yahoo News, Vox & The Daily Beast, are a neon-lit chaos factory where dreams go to die, young journalists hunched over their keyboard, student loan debt looming like a storm cloud. They have graduated from prestigious universities with $120,000 in debt, a head full of ideals, and a burning desire to expose corruption, amplify the voiceless, and change the world—one Pulitzer-worthy exposé at a time. Instead, she was on her fifth draft of a headline.

They sigh, a soul quietly exiting their bodies. Having spent four years studying investigative reporting, ethics, and the power of the written word, only to churn out clickbait drivel that made one want to apologize to the internet. The latest masterpiece? “Readers Wish Journalists Would Stop Doing This One Thing…” The irony is lost and that was the problem.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Back in college, Nick had visions of breaking Watergate-level scandals, his byline synonymous with truth. But the reality of journalism in 2025 was a meat grinder of algorithms and ad revenue. Newsrooms were bleeding money, and the only way to survive was to hook readers with headlines that promised earth-shattering revelations but delivered lists of “Top 10 Ways to Organize Your Sock Drawer.” Spoiler: Number 7 was always “Buy more socks.”

Across the newsroom, his colleagues were no better off. There was Josh, who’d dreamed of covering war zones but was now writing “This Cat’s Yoga Routine Will Blow Your Mind!” And Sarah, who’d once pitched a series on climate refugees but was now stuck on “These Five Foods Are Secretly Killing You!” (Number 3? Kale. Always kale.) Each of them had six-figure debt and a diploma that felt more like a receipt for broken dreams.

The kicker? Readers hated it. Nick scrolled through X, where users roasted clickbait with the precision of a Michelin-star chef. “Journalists, stop with the ‘You Won’t Believe’ nonsense,” one post read. “Just tell me the thing!” Another: “I clicked ‘This One Trick Will Save Your Life’ and it was drink water. I want my 30 seconds back.” The backlash was relentless, yet the clicks kept coming. Readers were moths; clickbait was the flame.

Nick never paid off his loans—He was still eating instant noodles most nights.