Over the years I have seen the shift from real news media to the joke we have today. I grew up with the big three networks who, for half an hour every night, informed the public about the world without the interruption of commercials. Looking back, I know what happened and I’m sad to say I don’t know how to fix it. There is a mental illness that leads one to believe that everything can be better if it is privatized and modeled for profit. That model is killing the first amendment.
There was a time when cable channels cost extra and it was the gateway to profanity an seeing breasts at night. One man had an idea for a 24-hour news network and it all went downhill. Instead of covering “cat stuck in tree” rumors of news filled the airwaves dropping the ethics of reporting to that of a high school rumor tree. Things have become worse since then. Channel carry a banner, a flag to show what side they are on. They have to adhere to ideology instead of stating facts. The qualification for a hews host to be on tv isn’t from their education or how they do their job but instead what percentage of the public would fuck them if given the chance. There is little difference between the news channels today and the playboy network.
I came up with a list of things that made me scratch my head, things that might help steer the boat back into the right direction. For starters, Tweets are not news. I don’t know who made this policy but they should be fired and exported to Antarctica. Going viral is not news, by the time you are reporting it the people who would care already saw it.
Breaking the news first isn’t great for ratings but it does make sure that you’re called an asshole when all of the facts are wrong. Try waiting, looking through all the information before you blast Breaking News across the screen because something might have happened. When your coworkers spend a year on a story try spending more than a day going through the information instead of acting like a child with ADD.
Celebrities are not news, unless they kill somebody. Kim Kardashian’s ass is not news. Somebody being pregnant is not news. A divorce is not news. Rap battles are not news. This is tabloid crap that is meant to be read in a check out lane in the local supermarket, so let’s keep it there.
Fact checking is part of your job. Let’s keep this in mind for a long long time shall we. Had the media done its job back in 2003 we never would have gone to war in Iraq. The government is not an expert source when the story is the government. Its like repeating the question to answer the question, you are not going to get far.
If you are deciding the stories to cover by the possible ratings you will receive then you are not doing your job. This is why the internet is beating you. The majority of the stories spreading online is stupid shit that feeds the masses a load of junk food, what you should be concerned about is offering high quality food for the lowest possible cost. Instead what we get is Taco Bell.
I don’t know if any of this will help. I don’t know how many reporters know how to read anymore. The more news I watch the more I realize that Anchorman 2 was a documentary instead of a comedy. If you don’t want to be called the enemy of the people than please start doing your jobs. You created the monster that you still feed. Television is your own Little Shop of Horrors and a monster is yelling “Feed me!”