Tuning Fork in the Road

I’m in the wrong business. And not just because this newsletter has no revenue model. I’m selling (or, more accurately, giving away) a product that fewer and fewer people want. I’m not talking about the sharp witticisms, the pithy insights, or the dazzling wordplay. I’m talking about the news itself. “Globally, news avoidance is at a record high, according to an annual survey by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism published in June. This year, 40% of respondents, surveyed across nearly 50 countries, said they sometimes or often avoid the news, up from 29% in 2017 and the joint highest figure recorded. The number was even higher in the US, at 42%, and in the UK, at 46%. Across markets, the top reason people gave for actively trying to avoid the news was that it negatively impacted their mood.” I get it. My mood is destroyed about three minutes into my day. But I’m guessing that the loss of our democracy would bum me out even more. Why more and more people are tuning the news out.