Is TV news all gloom and doom? In a blog entry last week, IzzyMom said she'd had it with depressing stories, and was going on a news blackout. She even changed her home page to HappyNews.com, a site with the tag line "Real News. Compelling Stories. Always Positive." The current headline is "Madonna Again Visits Malawi Orphanages."
Many readers agreed with her. One woman said she allows her husband to "filter" the news for her, and tell her what he thinks she should know.
I will admit that it's sometimes hard to watch a newscast, especially on violent days -- locally or nationally. And as journalists, it can be emotionally difficult to cover tragedy after tragedy. But informing people is our job, and we simply can't edit out the violent or tragic.
I'm curious though...are people REALLY more interested in Madonna's adoption efforts than the latest E. coli scare?
News Mom V.
8 comments:
I think that we become overloaded with the "negative" "sad" "violent" "conspirancy" and not enough of the "good" "positive" "uplifting" "good deeds". If you go through the newspaper or listen to the evening news-most of it is what is wrong in the world. I agree I don't spend much time watching the news and I glance through the paper and pick and choose what I will read. Do i want to hear another story about e-coli, the bird flu, etc. yes if it is knocking on my door but I would also like to hear about a community or individual that is pulling together to help those in need more.
I think you're twisting things around to suit your point that people should follow the news.
I can't control what's on HappyNews.com any more than I can any other news outlet. Just because that's one of the headlines doesn't mean I'm interested in it in the least. And I'm sure every other news page has that story somewhere on it, as well, as every news outlet except NPR covers that kind of nonsense.
MY POINT is that MY mental health is suffering because of an overload of negativity. If YOUR mental health is just fine, then good for you. Don't change a thing.
As for the commenter who says she let's her husband filter her news... I don't know her or advocate that practice.
And finally, to ease your concerns, you should know that I do listen to NPR's hourly news breaks in my car so yes, I DO know that S. Korea conducted an underground nuclear test.
And yes, I'm pretty bummed about it.
Izzy...I honestly was not trying to be preachy or to slight you in any way. If you feel that is the case, I'm sorry.
I thought your post was a good one -- that's why I linked to you.
Obviously, many people agree with your perspective. Myself included. I've gone on self-imposed news blackouts too (while on maternity leave, when my hormones were out of wack.)
And again, I'm NOT implying that you do not know what's going on in the world...or that it's really any of my business whether you do or not.
I was simply trying to start a discussion...and find out how others out there felt.
I'll hope you'll give me an another chance. :)
Not only did I not agree with Izzy's post or the many comments supporting her argument, I posted my protestation. Izzy and I had a nice email exchange where I explained my position.
I feel that it is irresponsible for citizens to be ignorant of the world around them. THat ignorance allows things like Kim Jong Il's nuclear testing (although Letterman blames it on his brother, Mentally Ill) to happen. If his people were informed about what's going on, they would find a way to rise and protest. But they are purposely kept in the dark, just as Muslims do with women. The more ignorant the population, the more the dictators are able to get away with.
And I have NO interest whatsoever in Madonna. None.
Yeah, the world sucks and so does the news, and it sure would be nice if every once in awhile we got a good story. Sometimes the newscasters in my area give the appearance that they relish telling me the bad stuff, and that annoys me. But you gotta report the serious stories or we'll whine about that too. Additionally, it's not entirely the media to blame -- until we stop tuning in for constant coverage of the lost blonde girl in Aruba - that's all we're going to get. AND, the other thing that annoys me - celebrities patting themselves on the back for saving the world one baby at a time.
What's cool about blogging? I just got to spout my opinion about something to an audience of people over age five. Your blog is great.
I'd like to know what drives the miserable news machine. I agree that I don't want to see it but the market is always right ... someone somewhere must want it.
I'll tell you. It's human curiosity, human nature. Some stations and networks have made the bold move to ignore car chases and air uplifting, informative news. Sadly, their ratings suffered. And the bottom line is, ratings = advertising = revenue, and the folks who work at the station have to get paid. I'm not defending it by any means. As a mom who can barely find anything for my kids to watch on TV(certainly not the news I report) I truly wish we could turn that trend around. And some of us DO try to, one story at a time. But the sad fact is there's something alluring, something exciting about watching a guy running down the freeway for hours... or seeing the latest on the missing blonde girl... or even who got shot last night and why... that makes people not want to change their channels. BELIEVE ME -- if people didn't watch it, it wouldn't air.
I could care less about Madonna. I think the media scares people regarding everything. Yes it is all doom and gloom. I think the news has not enough news and to much Opinion.
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