A cartoon on the opinion page of a recent edition of The Tribune said it all about the state of the news media these days: Against a backdrop of wars, fires, violence, meteor attacks, and all sorts of other disasters, the newscaster says, “But first the latest on Tiger.”
The media focus so much attention on scandals and gossip mongering, as though these were the only “news” of any importance. Is that what sells? Is that what people are really interested in, or is that what the media think they must print or broadcast to bring in the money? Are we really that hungry for other people’s misery?
Sad, isn’t it? Think about it and let your favorite newspaper, magazine, radio and TV stations know we’re tired of this stuff and want real news—not the overabundance of gossip spiced up with a little of what’s really going on in the world. Let’s read not only the bad stuff, but the good stuff as well.
This article appears in May 20-27, 2010.