News or tabloid trash?
Josh Clark
Issue date: 2/1/10 Section: Opinion
"Starting today's top stories, Miley Cyrus is in trouble yet again. Later in the hour, we'll be discussing the latest developments in the Tiger Woods scandal, as well as the movie President Obama took his kids to see during the holidays." Does any of this sound familiar?
Any given day, on all of the major news networks, the stories are pretty much the same. We hear about tension due to Iran and North Korea's nuclear programs, the week's casualties in the war, the recession, and the latest debates over health care reform. These stories are important, but they've gotten somewhat repetitive.
To spice it up a little, reports are centering on famous people cheating on their partners or getting in trouble with the law. In between debates on global warming and nuclear disarmament, we get bombarded with the latest on Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.
Can anyone tell me what's happened to the news?
There used to be a place for stories like these. They were found in tabloids and magazines near the checkout line at the grocery store. We laughed at the ridiculous garbage they came up with. But now, even the major news networks would rather talk about celebrities in trouble instead of world events.
The news has become the latest reality show, and people resort to desperate measures to be the next overnight sensation. The parents that made people believe their little boy was trapped in a runaway weather balloon is one of the best-known recent examples of this, as well as the couple that showed up as uninvited guests at a state dinner in the White House.
Even though they face federal investigation, they still got the attention they wanted. After their story gets cannibalized by the media, they'll probably write a book and get on the New York Times Best Sellers list. That's just how it works, right?
The news used to be a reliable source of important information. Instead, it's become reminiscent of soap operas and gossip magazines. Stories that are truly newsworthy are getting harder to find from any source. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are fine, but when trash gets the same treatment as weightier matters, people stop paying attention to the more important things.
Sensationalism has always been a tool used by the news to keep people interested. But the responsibility of the news is to inform with the truth, not to entertain with scandalous speculations. Until we can take the news seriously again, we have to continue digging for the truth without a reliable guide.
Any given day, on all of the major news networks, the stories are pretty much the same. We hear about tension due to Iran and North Korea's nuclear programs, the week's casualties in the war, the recession, and the latest debates over health care reform. These stories are important, but they've gotten somewhat repetitive.
To spice it up a little, reports are centering on famous people cheating on their partners or getting in trouble with the law. In between debates on global warming and nuclear disarmament, we get bombarded with the latest on Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.
Can anyone tell me what's happened to the news?
There used to be a place for stories like these. They were found in tabloids and magazines near the checkout line at the grocery store. We laughed at the ridiculous garbage they came up with. But now, even the major news networks would rather talk about celebrities in trouble instead of world events.
The news has become the latest reality show, and people resort to desperate measures to be the next overnight sensation. The parents that made people believe their little boy was trapped in a runaway weather balloon is one of the best-known recent examples of this, as well as the couple that showed up as uninvited guests at a state dinner in the White House.
Even though they face federal investigation, they still got the attention they wanted. After their story gets cannibalized by the media, they'll probably write a book and get on the New York Times Best Sellers list. That's just how it works, right?
The news used to be a reliable source of important information. Instead, it's become reminiscent of soap operas and gossip magazines. Stories that are truly newsworthy are getting harder to find from any source. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are fine, but when trash gets the same treatment as weightier matters, people stop paying attention to the more important things.
Sensationalism has always been a tool used by the news to keep people interested. But the responsibility of the news is to inform with the truth, not to entertain with scandalous speculations. Until we can take the news seriously again, we have to continue digging for the truth without a reliable guide.
Be the first to comment on this story