You know what’s wild? We live in a world where information moves at the speed of light, algorithms decide what we see, and everyone thinks they’re a journalist because they have a Twitter account. Yet quality investigative reporting—the kind that actually moves the needle—is rarer than ever.
I’ve spent years building products. I know what it takes to create something that works, that people actually want to use, that makes a real difference. And I’ll tell you something: the principles that make a product successful are exactly the same ones that make journalism successful. You need obsession with the truth. You need people willing to dig deeper than the algorithm suggests. You need accountability.
The Real Problem with Computer-Driven News
Let’s be honest about what’s happening in modern news. Most of what you see online is optimized for engagement, not accuracy. Computer systems—recommendation algorithms, social media feeds, news aggregators—they’re designed to show you what keeps you scrolling, not what you actually need to know.
This creates a problem nobody talks about enough: the erosion of investigative reporting. Deep-dive journalism takes time. It takes resources. It doesn’t perform as well on social media as a hot take video does. So newsrooms cut those departments. They shift people to digital content that performs better. The metrics look good. The business suffers.
When I build a product, I measure what matters. Not just vanity metrics. Real metrics. Retention. Impact. Did it solve the problem? The news industry needs to think the same way. Sure, clicks matter. But do you know what matters more? Being the outlet people trust. Being the source that breaks the real story.
Why Someone Like Stephen Stock Still Matters
You need investigative reporters. People who spend weeks chasing a single lead. Who talk to sources that don’t want to talk. Who connect dots that aren’t obvious. Who publish stories that actually change policy, hold institutions accountable, and inform the public about things they need to know.
An assistant news director and investigative reporter is doing something computers can’t automate. They’re making judgment calls. They’re building relationships. They’re developing expertise in specific areas where their knowledge is irreplaceable. They’re deciding what’s important when the algorithm can’t tell the difference between what’s popular and what’s true.
Here’s what I’ve learned building startups: people underestimate the value of specialized expertise. Everyone wants to automate everything, cut costs, scale fast. But sometimes you just need someone really good who knows their beat inside and out. Someone willing to push back when something doesn’t add up. Someone who owns the outcome.
The Human Element in Computer News
Technology is a tool. It’s not a replacement for judgment. You can build the smartest recommendation system in the world, but it won’t replace a reporter who has developed credibility over years of accurate work.
What I’ve seen fail repeatedly in my industry is this: founders who think they can remove the human element from their product. They build systems that are technically correct but miss something essential about what people actually need. News is the same way. You need computers to distribute information efficiently, sure. But you need people to decide what’s worth distributing in the first place.
The reporters and editors who thrive in modern newsrooms are the ones who understand both sides. They know how to work with data and systems. But they also know that their job is fundamentally about finding truth and telling stories that matter. Not gaming algorithms. Not chasing viral moments.
If you’re paying attention to what’s happening in news right now, you’ll see that outlets which have invested in quality investigative teams are the ones people actually subscribe to. They’re the ones people trust. They’re building sustainable businesses because they’re solving a real problem: the hunger for information you can actually rely on.
That’s not nostalgia. That’s just what works.
Source: Stephen Stock – Assistant News Director/Investigative Reporter
David Nguyen
James Holloway