This week has been an exceptional week for news programs across the board. Each time I logged onto a news site I saw reports of the Boston Marathon bombing. The information in the reports were generally the same with some varying accounts, but all in all rather solid reporting. The televised news however left much to be desired.
First off, let me preface this by saying it can't be easy to sit up there and discuss a story all day and night and ensure everyone is getting all the information. I understand the need to circle back every now and again to the pertinent facts and discuss points made earlier.
What I don't understand is why these news organizations feel the need to expound on conjecture. I heard one 'expert' state that it was this boy's Muslim faith that may have motivated this attack. Really dude? How are you to know that? And just because he is Muslim doesn't make him inherently dangerous.
The one saving grace in this whole ordeal came from the police and FBI who refused to comment on anything but the minor points of the investigation and manhunt. This, in my opinion, mitigated any loss of life and property that may have occurred had the authorities been transparent with the news media. Reporters notoriously care about the story, and if the suspect got away and went on to something more gruesome that would be another story to them. I am not saying they don't care about the loss of life or about people in general, but I am saying that their narrow minded focus on getting every detail out is a hindrance at best,at worst it is obstruction.
The same thing happened when That madman shot up the elementary school, and again when that other freak-show shot up the batman movie. The media plastered their faces all over the place, distant cousins neighbors dog-walkers cardiologists are interviewed, conjecture is thrown around... there is no end to the hype placed around these individuals. There are assuredly more than one reason these individuals inflict this type of evil on their fellow man, but I would wager that the news outlets putting them front and center does not help the next generation of potential ass hats. What this country needs is a national hero, someone who can eclipse all these perversions of humanity.
When did our news media become a circus? When did we start caring about shock and awe and sensationalism more than noteworthy news. I think it was when we stopped focusing on the good within humanity and started focusing on the bad. It is a cycle that must be broken. We see these nincompoops paraded in front of us on the news and we don't see the lighter, happier side of humanity.
Don't get me started on celebrity news and that whole soup sandwich.
No comments:
Post a Comment