RADIO & PRINT NEWS
Once the deliverers of news discovered that dumbed-down, headline-focused, and sound bite-reinforced capsules of information make people feel as though they are well informed, the value as a commodity continued to increase exponentially. In fact, that may be the key to the problem—people who watch or read the news believe they are well informed.
Radio and television news have a similarity in that the listener is at the mercy having to go through the order of the news, when waiting to find out what s/he wants to know. If, for instance, the viewer/listener must endure the other stories that s/he may not have wanted to hear in the first place.
Another key issue, and it has to do with all media is, who decides what shall be consumed by the audience. Who decides “what is news?” Of course, the oversimplified answer is, whatever sells. The kinds of news stories that increase sales and gain viewers will get the most attention. It’s the old line, “If it bleeds, it leads.” The media fixation with gore and violence is fed by people’s want to see the “train wreck.” Crime and violence stories mean increased ratings for newscasts.
Cohen and Solomon (1995) reported that their studies of 100 television news outlets around the nation yielded the following coverage:
- 42 percent - "Mayhem" (crime, disaster and war)
- 30 percent - Crime
- 11 percent - Government
- 2 percent - Environmental
- 1.6 percent - Unions and labor
- 0.9 percent - Civil rights
Fluff coverage included stories about "a Miss Bald USA contest, a beauty contest for cows, a bourbon-tasting contest in Texas and a kangaroo who fell into a swimming pool."
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