Media Services: Giving What the People Want
- 2
- Add a Comment
The news services creep ever so close to tabloid journalism. As one of the most critical elections in decades approaches, the present focus is not on war, the economy or health care. Instead, the news media think that the interest of the public rests in marital infidelity, paternity tests and clandestine late night hotel meetings.
Perhaps that attracts more viewers than inquiring of the McCain camp about the disappearance of the ’straight talk express’ or inquiring of the Obama camp about the Illinois Senator’s latest shift in policy.
At one time, the news was a social obligation to keep the public safe and informed. With the emergence of the continual news services, it is a matter of holding public attention and having the proper demographics. It is just business. It is advertising. And it has become Paris Hilton, in a bikini, commenting on future energy policies.
That is sad commentary about what the media thinks the public wants.
Catherine Forsythe
2 Comments
swordofdestiny
August 10th, 2008
at 7:05pm
There is an excellent Jib Jab flash about this called, “What We Call the News.”
kovacz
August 11th, 2008
at 3:41am
You’re partly right about “what the media thinks the public wants” - large scale studies in Germany some 20 years ago revealed that journalists’ attitude is one of arrogance and unwarranted superiority; a notion of “knowing more” dominates.
however, I believe we’re way past that:
the “media” - the handful of corporations running them worldwide - no longer even pretend to give a hoot about what the what may or may not want. Look at fox and cnn; look at britain during the “dirty dossier” affair; the Dr Kelly killing; the massive anti-war public opinion: the public couldn’t possibly have made it clearer WHAT THEY WANT!!!
The media have now adopted the aggressive “you’re either with us or against us” motto; and no surprise, because the same “moguls” created that motto…
check who founded reuters and ap; check Ted Turner paranoid schizophrenic musings re. global warming…. It’s a sick elite, and they want to spread sickness…