"The mass media in the days of newspapers and television it's hard to be able to find a story that's about just what you're interested in at the time you're interested in it"

Guy Burgess points to a core limitation in the way traditional mass media operated, particularly during the era dominated by newspapers and television. In that period, people largely depended on editors and programmed schedules to determine what information would be made available to the public, and when. News was curated with broad audiences in mind, privileging stories deemed most relevant or important according to journalistic standards of the time. This approach, while useful for ensuring common cultural knowledge and promoting civic awareness, imposed a significant constraint on individual agency and diversity of interest.

Individuals seeking news about niche topics, emerging trends, or specific local issues often found themselves frustrated by the one-size-fits-all nature of print editions or scheduled TV broadcasts. When a person wanted to dive deeper into a subject that was personally meaningful, whether a minor political debate, a scientific development, or a cultural movement, the options were limited, and the timing rarely matched personal curiosity. Libraries and special publications could offer more customized material, but accessing these demanded effort, time, and sometimes money. As a result, people's information diets were shaped not just by what interested them but by what gatekeepers chose to deliver and when they decided to deliver it.

Burgess’s observation highlights a sense of passive consumption embedded in mass media systems: audiences most often waited to be fed stories, as opposed to actively seeking them out at the moment their interest was piqued. This environment contrasted sharply with later digital realities, where the architecture of the internet and search engines enabled rapid, individualized access to information. The limitations described stem from technological, economic, and cultural constraints of the era, which not only restricted immediacy and relevance but also affected how citizens understood their world, formed opinions, and engaged in public discourse. Burgess’s words thus capture a turning point in the ongoing quest for more responsive, customizable, and participatory information flows.