2008 Woodie Awards
Entertainment compromises journalism
More about glamor than passion for the craft of reporting
Michael Stone
Issue date: 3/17/08 Section: Opinions
If stories didn't have a conflict or some kind of drama between two opposing sides, it wasn't received well by the general public because it wasn't entertaining enough.
For example, if country A was to form a treaty with country B that would impact both nations for the good, it might be on page 13 of the news section. But if country A was to invade country B, it would be on front pages all across the country.
Happenings external to the journalism industry are more appreciated when drama is involved, but this is also true for happenings internal to the industry.
Internal drama in journalism is much worse than external drama, though. At least when focus is facing out, the public gets some view of what is going on in the world around them. But when the focus is facing in, the objective third party becomes the star, and the "news" is now about the person who is suppose to be bringing the news.
Talk show "journalism" is a good example of drama being created within the industry.
Imagine two people on a news talk show who know a great deal about capital punishment. The program would consist of a discussion using factual information, and even if they do disagree on certain aspects of the subject, they would most likely agree on some things.
But if two people are brought on the show that know basically nothing about capital punishment, but have different opinions, 30 minutes of uninformative entertainment is shown in the form of yelling and arguing.
The first instance is of knowledgeable people having an informative discussion that is actually worth viewing. The second instance is of "journalists" who appeared on television for their own profit rather than for actually caring about the death penalty.
Celebrity journalists like the ones that appear on "news" talk shows set a bad example for what journalists should be striving for.
Like all people of all crafts, journalists aspire to become the best at their trade. But when they are told the best is becoming a "talking head" on a news network, it corrupts the whole industry.
For example, if country A was to form a treaty with country B that would impact both nations for the good, it might be on page 13 of the news section. But if country A was to invade country B, it would be on front pages all across the country.
Happenings external to the journalism industry are more appreciated when drama is involved, but this is also true for happenings internal to the industry.
Internal drama in journalism is much worse than external drama, though. At least when focus is facing out, the public gets some view of what is going on in the world around them. But when the focus is facing in, the objective third party becomes the star, and the "news" is now about the person who is suppose to be bringing the news.
Talk show "journalism" is a good example of drama being created within the industry.
Imagine two people on a news talk show who know a great deal about capital punishment. The program would consist of a discussion using factual information, and even if they do disagree on certain aspects of the subject, they would most likely agree on some things.
But if two people are brought on the show that know basically nothing about capital punishment, but have different opinions, 30 minutes of uninformative entertainment is shown in the form of yelling and arguing.
The first instance is of knowledgeable people having an informative discussion that is actually worth viewing. The second instance is of "journalists" who appeared on television for their own profit rather than for actually caring about the death penalty.
Celebrity journalists like the ones that appear on "news" talk shows set a bad example for what journalists should be striving for.
Like all people of all crafts, journalists aspire to become the best at their trade. But when they are told the best is becoming a "talking head" on a news network, it corrupts the whole industry.
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