Can the media detract from issues with substance by reporting on issues with not substance?
When I loaded MSN today to read the latest headlines my eyes were immediately and instinctively drawn to this article. http://www.slate.com/id/2235064/?GT1=38001. I should explain that my mom doesn't have a mustache so this is not exactly a personal issue for me. Nevertheless, I was intrigued by the article and I used the only ten minutes of precious free time I had to read this saucy news bit from slate. Meanwhile, articles on Afganistan and the Healthcare bill, located at the bottom left of the screen, were conveniently neglected . It was like I opened a fridge full of fruits and vegetables shoved in the back and saw the only the half eaten piece of cake from two weeks ago and decided to eat that for lunch. I wonder if its the same for the public. They overlook important issues because they're distracted by the trivial stories and gossip. Is this the public's fault or the media's?
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The question of who is to blame for unimportant news coverage is a great one. It is also very tough to catch anyone red handed.
ReplyDeleteThe media is responsible for the delivery of the news and other information such as entrainment news. They are the gatekeepers in observing what the people want to know and eventually deciding what they will know.
So the media has to know their audience in order to stay in business and as a rule of thumb they purposely report what the public wants to know.
Some media outlets are more focused on hard news than others, however, most outlets know that Americans like entertainment news. If the media report rumors, scandals, etc people are more likely to stay tuned.
The same goes for news about politics. The majority of Americans think politics are complicated and boring. When news breaks about rumors and scandals in politics, more people are interested and engaged.
The fault then lies within both the media and the public. The public demands to be informed on certain topics and hint at wanting to know others. That other information is usually complicated world news, and inst very popular among Americans.
Americans love trash. We enjoy entertainment news over whats happening in an unknown foreign country any day. Media outlets know this, and they deliver.