The News

"The News" is a tense rock track in which frontwoman Hayley Williams rages against the news cycle that keeps people glued to their screens.

Williams opens the song by referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. War, a war, a war on the far side On the other side of the planet And I've got war, a war, a war right behind my eyes Right behind them just like a headache The relentless coverage of the atrocities leaves the empathetic Williams feeling helpless, heartbroken, and exhausted. She questions how much space the news can take up in her mind, so she takes a rest from the ceaseless reports of fighting and suffering. So I turn on the news Turn off the news But there are many significant global events: climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, political and social movements. Williams is caught in an internal conflict. She wants to know what's going on in the world, but all this bad news leaves her feeling depressed and fearful. "The 24-hour news cycle is just impossible to comprehend," she said. "And I feel a pang of guilt when I unplug to protect my head space. The common reaction, or non-reaction, seems to be dissociation. Not one of us is innocent of that and who could blame us?"

During the bridge, Williams seethes over how the media doesn't tell both sides of the story. Exploitative, performative Informative and we don't know the half of it Rhetorical, deplorable Historical and, all along, we called it normal She feels that rather than producing objective and informative coverage, the news outlets manipulate their reports to build a specific public opinion. Many are blind to this fabrication, which is designed to generate views and ratings.