For a while now, it’s been extremely apparent that the media not only misrepresents truth, but that they are incredibly intrusive, intentionally instigate for the sake of inciting a reaction (much like the west boro baptist church who we’ve all grown to know and love), and care solely about making an entertaining story above all else.
When you flip on the news at night, most of the time, there is over-reporting on topics or events that do not warrant 24-hour coverage of, celebrities you couldn’t care less about, and the weather. Two of those three things need to be seriously re-examined by the media for the sake of maintaining their title: The NEWS. A certain president-elect has even gone as far as to claim that the news isn't a source to be taken seriously about stories it reports for the presidential election, which is something that impacts the world in a big way
While I was watching a news program on PBS and something strange occurred to me: They were actually reporting all kinds of news! Not just reporting on the dramatized bits, but also economic trends, international affairs, scientific reports, and on the lives of ordinary people in their own communities. Very enriching. That is what I would consider to be actual news. Subtract the redundancy, bias, dramatization and gossip, and stick to the real aspects of what’s going on.
When, as a society, we decide to stop giving credence to news sources that report on trivial incidents that people will forget in a day and instead put our trust in sources outside of our Facebook feeds, maybe there will be more focus in our world on what will affect our futures and our communities. Shaping our environments and being thoughtful about how we take in the news which forms our worldview, is just as important as shaping ourselves to becoming better individuals through higher education.
What do I mean by shaping our environments?
Well, that means actively changing how we consume news and in how we look at the news. This starts with the individual, and in searching for credible, balanced, and trustworthy sources. For example, rather than following Buzzfeed news, or Vice.com, maybe it would be better if we had our foundations for news in sources such as the New York Times, or the BBC. Despite these not being seen as 'sexy' news sources, they carry a much more professional, and credible image than Buzzfeed Yellow.
It would also help a great deal if internet algorithms didn't manipulate what appeared on our Social Media feeds, as such algorithms tend to polarize us even further in our consumption of news. While these algorithms are out of our control, we can learn to recognize them in thinking actively about what we're reading as we scroll through our feeds.
As for Television, it's difficult to find news sources now that many won't denounce as being right or left. However, if TV is the way you view news, watching both sides of the political spectrum ensures you got a wide view of how the issues is perceived by either side and what facts they tend to emphasize or form statements around. By seeing the playing field of what's being discussed, you get a better idea of the truth as a complicated rather than a simple answer. Watching more nuanced and non-biased sources such as PBS or BBC helps as well, as it adds another level of depth to what you're absorbing.
Here's the bottom line: The news is something to be taken seriously, seeing that how we perceive the news forms our worldview and attitude about the society we live in. It requires thinking about our habits and changing our frame of mind in how we go about our daily lives, something that many do not examine, and whose voting, lunch conversations, and classroom opinions shape the world we live in. The process of how we absorb the news and in questioning and forming opinions about the news must be reflected and brought to everyone's attention. Though I do realize that the attraction to sensationalist news may never disappear completely and does have its place, the more people are aware of how much it sucks them in, and the better ability they have to pull themselves away when it becomes a wasteful and detrimental display, is when we will see the media begin to change.
