Reading the News Robustly, an interview with Sarah Karlen

I recently watched The Social Dilemma (Netflix) and recommended it to all my colleagues. Some had already watched it, and I got into a great conversation with my friend and co-worker, Sarah Karlen, about the film and about news and social media in general. I asked her if she would be willing to do an interview for the blog because I loved her news-reading practices. She has some great tips for how to get into the news without getting bogged down. 

Sarah White: We've been hearing so much about the news for the past few years, and it's especially been difficult since the pandemic started. We've heard so much conflicting information about the accuracy of different news sources, and it's been confusing. Let's start really high level. First, in your opinion, what is the purpose behind keeping up with the news? 

Sarah Karlen: In answering this question, I think of the growth of how "news" has spread over time. A hundred years ago, a newspaper was the only way to get news other than "word of mouth." Printed news was always seen as the real information or the truth. Of course even 100 years ago there were biases of journalists and the owners of the papers, but the general concept was that the point of the news was to inform people correctly of things. 

As time went on and we added multiple methods of getting the news, the reason for getting it has changed also. Although the majority of the time I think people are going to the news to find out information, what we are seeing today is that people are also going to the news to read more about what they personally care about. The result is that people sometimes don't hear news they don't want to hear, don't agree with or simple don't care that much about. 

So, finally getting around to the answer to your question: we need to keep up with the news to stay informed about what's happening locally, nationally and internationally as well as to expand our understanding in a wide variety of areas. Staying informed and expanding our understanding not only helps us to grow ourselves, but it helps us to better understand things around us. We make our choices based on what we know and understand, so I think that knowing and understanding to the best of our ability is crucial.

Sarah White: How much news do you think that a person should consume every day? For me, I know that I can't take in that much before I start to get overwhelmed, but I also feel a responsibility, especially in times of crisis, to know what's going on in the world. 

Sarah Karlen: I think that depends on the person, but most of us don't have a lot of time to spend daily on the news OR we spend too much time consuming the news. So there is a balance involved. I personally get an email every morning from 3 different news companies. They are the highlights of the news and have links to fuller articles and stories. I always read at least one of those emails in the morning before going to work to just know what's happening in the world and to be generally informed. Sometimes I read all three then, or read the other two later in the day. When I read those, I note which ones might have links to fuller articles I want to read and go back to those even days later to read. That way I can control when and how much I am consuming the news/media. 

Sarah White: Can you talk a little bit about why you think it's important to consume news from different media outlets? I have two different places where I get my news. I get CNN's Five Things daily email, and I listen to the BBC's World News when I drive home from work. How many different news sources are you looking at every day? Why did you choose these specific sites and not others? 

CNN's 5 things daily news email 

Sarah Karlen: This is something I think is so important to our outlook and understanding of what is happening and something not many people do. We need to read different sources and make sure we are not only consuming news that caters to what we want to hear and what we like. In order to have a well rounded understanding of issues, what's happening, and opinions on issues, we have to be listening to more than one source. 

Three sources are good - one conservative, one moderate, and one more liberal is a good starting place and then you can adjust as you try various outlets. Make sure it is well-known, long-existing, and known for integrity in its reporting. As I mentioned, I get three different news emails each day. The three I have chosen for now are The New York Times, The Associated Press, and the BBC. I am specifically listening to the Associated Press and BBC to get more than US news. Especially in regards to the Coronavirus, I wanted to know what was happening and being discovered scientifically and through experience around the world. The Associated Press is moderate. The New York Times is more liberal, but I appreciate their history and integrity of how they report things which is why I have chosen them. They also specifically label things "opinion" that are opinion so you're not getting stories that are opinions seeming like they are absolute fact. 

Sarah White: For someone who's just starting out with news or seeking a reset, what advice do you have for reading the news robustly? 

Sarah Karlen: Find something that gives you highlights and basic info and read the entire thing. Don't skip anything. They're generally not that long and just have a short blurb for each thing - if you want more you can always click on the links and read further. If something concerns you, confuses you or upsets you - read more about it instead of skipping it or not fully reading it. Even when you don't agree, you can learn more so you can have better conversations with people and importantly, a better understanding of their opinion. When we better understand one another we have better dialogues with each other.

Sarah White: Last word-- what's the number one thing that you think mothers with young children should know about the news or about media consumption in general? 

Sarah Karlen: Social media feeds you only what you want to see and is not a good source of news. It can be useful to find out something quick, but their goal is to make money, so they will feed you whatever you think you want to see whether it's true and correct, or misinformation. Find at least two or three good sources to look at briefly versus depending on clicking on things on Facebook or Instagram. You don't have to be an expert, you just need to be aware and informed. I guess that's two things! 

Sarah Karlen is the Arts and Communications Pastor at City Church in Madison, Wisconsin.  Sarah finds joy in being a storyteller whether it is through theatre, preaching, teaching or sharing her life with others.  Sarah also serves as the drama teacher and director for Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin of which she is an alumna.