The News Media (often called just “the media” by some) is no longer the domain of journalism. Those who bemoan the lack of journalism in the media don’t seem to realize that it isn’t news anymore — it is just more entertainment. For many years news outlets (with few exceptions) have been moving more and more to being entertainment outlets. The selections of what and who to cover are based on how many eyes they can bring to the forum. Media darlings, such as the Kardashians and sports heroes, are more likely to attract attention to their pages and channels than serious investigations that raise questions and require the viewer to think about the subject in a sober or new manner.
The most blatant example of this trend is, of course, FOX News. The observation that many folks with some brain cells left often refer to them a “faux news” tells the tale well. Over and over the Fox commentators simply give voice to the vapid memes that their corporate masters dictate. They pass on lies and misinformation without so much as checking websites (such as snopes.com) or other sources to evaluate the truth or falseness of a claim. They (Fox) will pass on false news stories, or even originate them, without a single quiver of trepidation because they know there can be no unpleasant repercussions for doing so. The fact that they have the largest viewership numbers in the news market unfortunately drives the whole industry in the same direction — down.
The other four major news providers, ABC, CBS, NBC, and NPR, have all followed the FOX lead by dumbing down and simplifying their offerings. We no longer see anything like the emotionally exhausted and heartbroken Walter Cronkite reporting on the death of President Kennedy at 1 A.M. in the morning on that sad November day in 1963. Instead we are more likely to get hours and hours of a “low-speed car chase” following O.J. Simpson, or hours of set up publicity events like campaign rallies or “news conferences” that impart no news. News anchors are no longer chosen for their broad experience in the field, but instead are selected for their ability to attract the most viewers.
The rise of social media on the internets also reflect this trend towards entertainment. The harbingers of internet social media, the BBSs and early internet newsgroups, where people wrote and interacted at a reasonable pace, have given way to sites like Facebook and Twitter where things come and go so fast that it is impossible to keep up with it. Instant gratification is the mode of the day, and advertising and monetization are all the rage. But, above all, the entertainment is why people use such sites. Even the president-elect tweets for the entertainment of his base of followers, who hang on every word as if were gospel truth.
How have we come to this? Because the political system has encouraged everyone to just accept the status quo and not to overthink, or even think at all. It is, unfortunately, in the human nature to have “faith” in the pronouncements of the social hierarchy.
[M]ankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
— United States of America Declaration of Independence, 1776
In the wake of November 8, 2016 we are faced with a need to hold “the media” and the government fully responsible for their actions and abuses. We, individuals concerned for the future for ourselves and our heirs, need to take up our responsibilities and call out those who lie and misdirect our attention away from the real news that concerns our lives. The future really is in our hands.