...About Media Sensationalism

It has always been accepted that when you tell a fish story, the one that got away was "thiiis big!!"  Well, maybe not THAT big, but it was close!  Also - that girl he saw at the bar was scoping him out BIG TIME! "Man, she wanted me and you could tell it!" Actually, he was standing in front of the bar TV. Yeah, but that's OK. We accept that a story is good if it's a bit outrageous. 
But these days, making stories sound that overblown in the media has become almost criminal; all in the name of viewers. I don't want sensationalism from the people who are supposed to provide the facts. 

The dictionary defines sensationalism as follows: 
sensationalism |senˈsā sh ənlˌizəm|

noun

1 (esp. in journalism) the use of exciting or shocking stories or language at the expense of accuracy, in order to provoke public interest or excitement

During local coverage of the (tragic) Boston Marathon bombing, the NBC affiliate in Mobile did a story of a local who was at the Marathon cheering his wife (I think). The text at the bottom of the screen grabs your attention: "Local man just yards from the bombing." Note that they say "yards." In the interview, the man says he was "a block or so away" from where the explosion occurred. When I say to you that something is "yards away," you expect that to mean somewhere in the area of 10-12-15 feet away. When I say it is "a block or so from here," you get the hint that it's "a little piece away." BUT - the story is not near as exciting if the TV station says "Local man not far from the bombing." Nothing in that phrase makes me want to stop chewing to hear the story. 

In this morning's reporting of the fertilizer plant explosion in West, TX, the reporter is interviewing a local official. He was (apparently) struck by flying debris and has several small cuts on his face and forehead. There is blood trickling down and drying on his head and face. If you or I saw this, we would say, "Here... use this towel to wipe your face and take care of yourself." Oh how foolish I am! The reporter asks one mundane question after another with no regard for the blood, because blood sells better TV! She will probably win some local 'Reporter of the Year' award for her stellar coverage of this tragic event. 

Time after time after time we see this. Whether the local news, national news, the Weather Channel (that Jim Cantore sure can make one hell of a story, can't he?), or an ad for Jim Bob's Furniture Store's Going Out of Business Sale, the more we sensationalize it, the more we grab the viewer by the throat. 

To me, the cause of all of this is 24 hour news &/or weather channels. In the need for ratings and viewers, these 24 hour droolers... er... news anchors will tell any story and sensationalize it to sound newsworthy. If it's not gripping, why would you watch that instead of Dick Van Dyke reruns at 2:30am? 

Talk about 24 hour news drivel - a 2nd grader goes to school with an orange mohawk. The principal (whether right or wrong) says it is distracting to other kids and has the mom come get the child. Why does this make national news? Because the 24 hour newsies need SOMETHING to talk about. That's why we have so many lawsuits - because ANY worthless piece of flesh can call Headline News and get put on the air to support their cause. "We can care about whether or not it's a real news story later... right now, we need the ratings, and Robin needs some hair spray." But... I digress! 

And everybody does this aggrandizing. After yesterday's vote about gun control background checks, the president acts all mad and pouty, the vice-president has his face in his hands, and they are surrounded by the Newtown families and Gabby Gifford. Sensationalism. You and I both know that the president has some staffer who is smart enough to have known what the vote was going to be, and all of the hoopla was staging to make a point with whomever will buy into it. (And by the way... Why the hell were the Newtown families flying around on Air Force One?? Who is paying for THAT partisan waste of money?? You and ME!)    

Now don't take this as an attack on people who work in the media. I know a buncha folks in the media. I was a part of the media for a long time. I am simply saying that we have gotten to the point where we aren't shocked by much anymore. As a result, the news industry must make a larger effort to command our attention. I get that. I just think it's a crying shame that the method to get that attention is to make that fish bigger and bigger everytime we tell the story. Tell me the facts. If I think you tell the facts better than the other channel, I will choose to watch you. 

All my life my father would stop me when I was telling some 'whopper' and say, "Why don't you just be quiet? Nobody wants to hear all that nonsense."  

Now I know exactly what he meant. 

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