Its pretty self-evident when browsing news channels that straight, black and white reporting, no longer has a place in our Attention Deficit society. Most news formulas follow the old adage, “if it bleeds, it leads”, but does this mean that it is more newsworthy than a investigative report? Does President Obamas choice of vacation spot outweigh the uncovered corruption on Capital Hill? I have a quick answer for you: distraction. I use this word in it’s most esstial sense; something that draws attention away from relevant issues and places weight on something unimportant and unnecessary.
Throughout the news system today, we have media conglomorates constantly vying for the attention of the public, pushing agendas and taking our minds off what really matters in our society and world. Lets take attention getting as our first example. As any writer worth their salt knows, its easy to word something in a way that remains factual while still increasing the “wow” factor. Knowing this, it is often painfully obvious that the exaggerations made in the news media today all exist as an attempt to catch viewers’ attention.
This, paired with agenda oriented reporting can pose quite a problem. Journalism 101 states that unbiased reports are at the core of what we hold so dear in reporting. However, as stations become more and more politically charged, we begin to lose hard news as partisian thoughts are thrown into every report broadcast. Using a directional approach to news coverage, companies begin to form schools of thought that refuse to listen to another’s opinion. Once created, an endless cycle of propagation and blind accepatance of fact becomes what we, the consumer of information, call news.
News isn’t opinion. News isn’t a political medium. News isn’t some B movie intened to use hyperbole to receive ratings. News if for the people. The public relies on a rebellious few that choose to dig deep and uncover what others prefer to have hidden. Sure, its impossible to completely erase one’s own ideas from a story but it needs to be factual and straight, not spun like a curve ball thrown at the opposing team. We all have opinions but it should be up to the receiver of the information to form the opinion. Not to have it spoon-fed by those that see the same way as yourself and aren’t afraid to show it. With this model, there will never come any serious social or political change, just an infinite amalgumation of recylced opinion