Scriptural Basis
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?... Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 
Matthew 6:27, 31-32

Finish the story
I assumed that the news made me anxious and depressed because it constantly talked about everything wrong in the world. If only it would talk about the things going right, surely I’d be full of peace and joy!

Except Jesus saw how bad the world was, expected it to get worse, and still told us “do not be anxious.” Jesus warned His followers that the world will persecute them (Matthew 5:10), hate them (John 15:18), kill some of them (Matthew 24:9), and that they will, in general, face many trials (John 16:33). In case we thought those were empty warnings, Jesus then allowed Himself to be tortured and killed, and church tradition reports that 11 of the disciples (including Matthias, who replaced Judas) were killed for their faith, with the 12th (John) being exiled to the island of Patmos. 

But “do not be anxious.” Right… Got it. 

That command feels ridiculous until we remember that those things aren’t the end of the story. Yes, the disciples were killed, but then they began their eternity with Jesus in paradise! As Paul puts it in Romans 8:18, “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.” 

What reduces anxiety is not the ignorant belief that everything on earth is fine, but the proper understanding that no matter how bad things get, everything will end well for those in Christ. The reason the news produces anxiety is not that reality is anxiety-inducing or that the media only shares bad news; it’s that it fails to share that bad news in the appropriate context of the Good News. It ends the story too early.

Here’s the perspective that the 24/7 news cycle reinforces:
 Things are bad. They will likely get worse. 

Here’s the perspective Jesus held: 
 Things are bad. They will get worse. Don’t worry because everything will—for sure—end well for My followers. 

When we put those side by side, it’s easy to see what the news is missing and why it makes us anxious. The news is telling us part of the story but leaving off the most important, eternal context.

Don’t let that incomplete story stand. As you read the news, finish the story. Eternity is coming, and it changes everything.