Stay informed, not overwhelmed

How to keep up with the news without overload

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If I had a dollar for every person I’ve talked to recently who has stopped reading and watching the news, or at least cut way back, I’d be able to retire. Oh, wait. I AM retired! Retired from a lifelong career in newsrooms, and even I admit to dreading watching the evening news and reading newspapers.

Election results in Iowa and nationally have produced feelings of anxiety for half the population. Final results show Donald Trump winning by one-and-a-half percentage points. He finished just under 50%, meaning just more than half of Americans voted for somebody else. The results of that narrow margin of victory open a much wider gulf between what Trump plans to do to our country and the desires of those who did not vote for Trump. It was far from a mandate, although Trump will claim he got one.

These early days of the transition confirm the worst fears of many Americans. Trump is rapidly picking cabinet secretaries, apparently by looking at a sheet full of people’s pictures and going “eeny meeny miny moe.” No FBI background checks. Not enough questions about what landmines these people have in their background. The only qualifications that matter are whether they look good on TV and whether they’ve spent enough time kissing Trump’s you-know-what.

And we all know this is the calm before the storm. Once Trump gets in office, it will be another four full years of chaos, childish taunts, blowing up his own staff, alienating allies – on and on.

Adding to the stress was Sunday’s gut punch of President Biden pardoning his son, after repeated promises not to do so. Most of us who hunger for integrity from their leaders are finding it increasingly difficult to stay plugged in.

Discerning news viewers need a break, and they’re taking it. MSNBC has lost nearly half its audience since election day. CNN is down 22%. Fox News ratings are soaring.

How to stay sane

So how do serious news consumers stay informed for the next few months – heck, for the next four years – without going stark-raving mad?

I feel it’s important to not completely unplug from the news. So here are a few tips I use to stay on top of the latest developments, while also protecting my mental health.

1. Scan the headlines in a news source you trust, to get a sense of what’s going on. For important stories, I’ll read the first few paragraphs without delving deeper into every single story.

2. Avoid speculative stories. Stories that say what might happen or could happen usually serve only to raise my anxiety level. Many opinion pieces use the speculative model. During times like this, I prefer stories that tell me what has happened or will happen.

3. Avoid any story with a question in the headline. A few examples from this week:

· “Will Trump be the President of Vice? (The New York Times).

· “Can Rahm Emanuel Flip the Script Again?” (NY Times)

· “What happens if Elon Musk treats the government like he did Twitter?” (Washington Post)

· “Is Kristi Noem ready to run FEMA?”

· And, this favorite from the Washington Post: “With Trump, will we see World War 3?” There’s nothing about that story that calms my nerves. Right now, I don’t want speculation. I want facts – as succinctly as possible.

4. Get out in nature. Take a walk in the woods. Breathe in some fresh air, listen to the sounds of nature, feel the breeze on your skin. It’s no guarantee that everything will be okay, but it sure helps bring perspective. There’s more to life than our political fears.

5. I do not get my news from social media. Too much clickbait. Too much thoughtless provocation. Too many trolls.

6. Continue to invest in quality journalism that you trust. You’ll want those reporters there when you return to your regular news consumption habits.

For now, give yourself a break. For a little while. Now is not the time to completely avoid the news, as tempting as it might be. Cut back for a while. But stay informed. Stay engaged. And stay sane.

I’m interested in how YOU are doing to cope with the news since election day. Please leave a comment – and thanks.

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I write this column as part of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Here’s a roster of our writers:

https://iowawriters.substack.com/p/iowa-writers-collaborative