I don’t normally watch too much television. My total hours per week probably add up to less than 15 (that’s about 2 hours a day, unless “Seinfeld” isn’t on, in which it falls to an hour and a half a day). Let’s face it, the quality of the shows have gone way downhill since they cancelled “Alf” — but I was about 10-years old back then, so maybe my standards were much lower — so I usually just watch the news to find out if I’ve missed anything important in the world, like a war or a controversial election or something.
The other day, however, I realized that I might have to stop watching the news and stick simply to “Seinfeld.” This revelation came while I was watching a news story on a woman’s tragic murder down in Oklahoma City. Apparently, her boyfriend had broken into her apartment, killed her and then killed himself — very tragic.
But as I watched, I began to ask myself, “Why do I need to know this?” Not to seem insensitive or anything, but why did her death need to be reported to me? People die every day and it doesn’t make the news. Heck, my father died this past November, and no TV station reported it.
The only reason I could think of to report this story is simply that the news station doesn’t care about reporting legitimate or pertinent news, but simply about giving the people what they are addicted to — sensationalism.
My suspicions were confirmed at the end of the story when the anchor told me to tune in at 10 so I could hear the poor woman’s desperate plea for help on a 911 tape.
I thought about taping the recording so I could go around and play it for anyone who was unable to watch the news that night, because it is something everybody needs to hear so they can be productive, well-informed citizens.
These types of stories aren’t news and to call them news is a joke. The only reason news stations run these stories is because they’re sensationalist and contain great video footage.
I don’t need to know if some guy led police on a high-speed chase on the interstate, and I don’t need to know if some cat was stuck in a tree somewhere (I’m not exaggerating — I actually saw a news story the other day about a cat stuck in a tree).
What I need to know is information that I can use and the stories I need to be told are the ones I can do something about. Is there an escaped convict? OK, show me what he looks like, tell me to keep an eye out for him and I won’t complain.
Has there been a town ravaged by a tornado? OK, tell me where it is and what I can do to help the victims. Is it going to rain tomorrow? Thanks for the info, I’ll take an umbrella to class — oh, and while you’re at it, go ahead and tell me who won the games today.
Maybe I’m wrong, though. Maybe these kinds of stories are necessary. I mean, how can anyone go about their lives without being entertained by the “desperate plea for help” of some poor woman they didn’t even know?
How can anyone in Oklahoma sleep at night without finding out about the plight of some escaped bear in New Jersey, because, after all, there is so much I can do about it (in case you can’t tell, I’m being facetious here).
Perhaps it can be argued that we need to know that horrible things, like a murder-suicide, happen in our society. I’ll grant this, but my beef with the “news people” is that they go too far in how they report the news — can anyone say “autopsy photos?” They care less about their journalistic duties than they do about presenting the action, drama and blood of a story for the hungry people out there.
If I want action, drama and blood, I’ll rent a movie — in the meantime, I’m just looking for the facts.
Loading ...
All Articles