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Tuesday, March 13, 2012

The Journalist as and Ideologue

Our news is formed by what we value and believe to be important. For me news is different than it is to you. You may not watch a whole lot of Sportscenter and where Peyton Manning signs a new contract may mean nothing to you, but to me that is the big news for the week. http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7680076/tennessee-titans-host-steve-hutchinson-push-peyton-manning-builds For you the biggest news of the week may be Sandra Fluke arguing with the Catholic Church and birth control. http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/13/opinion/fluke-contraception/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

What we think is news worthy is what eventually becomes the news. That means that when we are home watching the nightly news and think, "Why is there only bad news on the newscasts these day," It is because we are choosing to watch bad news more than we choose to watch good news. We choose to watch the things that impact our lives the most, therefore newscasts reflect our ideals by showing what we choose to watch. News producers will not report what won't be read by their viewers. 

Our enduring values are what we reflect in our news consumption. We value leadership, so when a leader is involved in a scandal we feel our values being threatened. We watch the scandal unfold in order to insure ourselves that our values are upheld. That is why bad news may be the only news we see. We are choosing only to watch the things that threaten our beliefs and values. Everyone was captivated by Tiger Woods as we watched his perfect life come crashing down. http://www.popeater.com/2009/12/07/more-women-in-the-tiger-woods-scandal-emerge/ Why did we watch? Because his acts violated our beliefs of what a superstar athlete should stand for. Many fans felt disgusted by Tiger's scandal and wanted to see him fail. Even today many continue to watch Tiger in hopes that he fails.

Our Ideals form our news, and what is newsworthy usually violates our ideals. The irony of the news is, if you feel it is all bad, change your beliefs and the news will change. News will continue to develop and change as we continually change our values.

 
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