With all this talk about “fake news”, let me just say that the regular, “real” news is not much better.
The news is depressing. Whether its your local station, the 24 hour cable networks or the International variety like BBC or Al Jazeera, the news is labyrinth of disseminated information in which goodness and positivity are indeed hard to find. That needs to change!
I understand that once upon a time the news had a simpler purpose. Locally or nationally, it was used to inform people of what it believed to be relevant and important information that people needed to know. Today, with the internet, people do not actually usually even get their news, breaking or otherwise from television news networks.
Now with the news being on and available nationally 24 hours a day and even local news programming actually on 5-6 hours a day, the issue is not even just about delivering information to people, but actually having them view their networks: i.e. ratings. Sure, the news is supposed to inform people as they once did, but now its even more about ratings, and viewers and money and that means the information is not the most important factor.
With all of these television “news” outlets competing for your attention they have reverted to sensationalism that sells. Sex, scandal and murders, in no particular order, clearly sell. They have been the determining factors that producers of news outlets have decided need to dominate our news feeds. Clearly we live in a global world and times of conflicts. In reality, I would argue that that is the world we have lived in for minimally the last one hundred years.
While we have not had a World War for 72 years, various wars have been played out across the globe, since that time, including the United States for the past 15 consecutive years on several fronts. War, conflict, political unrest are an unfortunate but very real reality of the world we have always lived in. Those images need to be shown, and those stories detailed.
On more local levels, people need to be informed of horrific crimes. The public needs to know about rapists, robbers and drive by shooters on the loose. However, the public needs more of a balance as well in the sensationalized and negative versions of news delivered with positive stories as well. I do not know what that balance should be, but I want to hear about more work that great non-profits do. I want to hear stories of success that kids from the hoods achieve, overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds to make impressive and significant contributions. I want to hear of stories of racial harmony and people coming together.
I want a balance, of good with bad. Even if you somehow accepted that the vast majority of the world is bad, change the narrative. If all people see is death, doom and despair, you are not only desensitizing them but you are shaping their minds and opinions. We already know that news agencies want to shape our political opinions, well why not actually use the platforms for good, by showing good.
The more good that people see, the more hope that it will instill. If you constantly show people a world of negativity, besides that just being a depressing notion, it helps foster a negative mindset. The news needs to collectively show more good in the world. First, because it exists, but if people are unaware of it, then they only have the negative images and feeds to otherwise base their opinions about the state of our humanity.
