how i stay sane when my life's work is reading the news
spoiler: i don't, but the times i do it's because of you
Good morning my angels! Today’s AMA is coming at you after a long week of final manuscript tinkering, so forgive the mania that may ensue. As per usual I adore all your questions and adore getting a little more personal in here with you. Ugh, why are we so cute?
Today I’m answering questions about:
how the hell I stay sane in the news cycle
something I dream of doing with SYSCA but HAVEN’T yet
my fave One Direction songs/ eras
what type of vibrator I use
Let’s gooooo x
Luce! Question for the next time you do a Q&A newsy (or really just a general q about how you’ve stayed sane over the years working in media):
Coming from someone who has lost faith in the news (more and more every day) how do you process it all, and not let it overwhelm you? If I as a normal person get extremely tired of the news and I rarely actively consume it, I just want your tips and whatever you may do to put your personal life in perspective with the grand scheme of things when you are constantly consuming both tradish news and pop-culture tidbits.
As always, thank you SO VERY MUCH for what you do! You simply existing helps me deal with really everything a little better every day xxxx
First of all - SUCH a thoughtful question. My relationship with the news media has changed so much since we first started SYSCA. In the beginning, it was all about speed - I wanted to be the first person to post something or the first to have a hot take. But after 2020 that all changed. I saw how bad it was for us all to be getting our news from social media (and often from influencers who really had no idea what they were talking about, but were being pressured to speak) so I decided to do what was potentially bad for ‘business’ but good for me - which was starting this newsletter.
I say ‘bad for business’ because it meant our metrics went down over on Instagram - I was way more focused on giving meaningful info over here, and thanks to all of YOU it turned out to be the best decision I ever made.
THAT is how I’ve stayed sane(ish.) By serving the people who aren’t here to pick apart everything I say, or take everything I write in the worst possible way, and by hanging out in a spot that feels safe to me.
Those boundaries aren’t always enough though. I’ve cried on podcasts talking about shootings in America, I’ve been devastated by reporting on Roe V Wade being overturned while my feed was full of people at the Met Gala - I even had a full breakdown at the end of last year over what’s happening in Gaza and how I could even begin to make sense of it on such a public platform (scary.)
I’m okay now, but my tips are to serve the people and platforms that serve you back, touch grass and remember that the people in your real life love you, and to not look away, but to find news sources that won’t make you feel dumb, or like total shit when you visit them.
What is something that you haven’t gotten to do with SYSCA that you dream of doing?