Recently a reader asked
why “we” the almighty media always focus on “bad news.”
Answering a question
with a question? Very Socratic:
What kind of “good
news” do you want to hear, see or read?
Inspirational magazines
like Reader’s Digest or Guideposts are filled with stories of neighborhood
heroics, community organizing, etc. etc.
If your town or city
still has a newspaper, chances are you can find your fill of firefighters
rescuing cats from trees or saving babies who’ve fallen into wells; returning
soldiers reuniting with their families after serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.
What people label as
“bad news” is stuff that may affect you directly and about which you might be
able to do something. California fires? Maybe not in your neighborhood, but
still, cautionary tales.
Hurricanes,
snowstorms, climate change, tornadoes, tsunamis are all helpful to know about.
And so is the constant s*it storm of misery from Washington because at least
for now, we still have elections in this country, most of them pretty honest
unless you live where I do in one of those congressman-for-life gerrymandered
districts.
Let me tell you a
story about a radio commentator, Paul Harvey. He was a “star” and a national
figure. And he was a conservative wacko by the standards of his day.
Today, he’d look like what passes for a “moderate” Republican.
His schtick was
to convolute bad news into listenable stories that pulled you in. He once spoke
about why he focused on bad news. I don’t remember the exact quote, but the
gist of his response was: people like to hear these things because then they
can say “thank God that’s not about me.”
I’m Wes Richards. My
opinions are my own but you’re welcome to them. ®
© WJR 2019
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