Friday, March 6, 1998
TV news tries to lure larger audience with sensationalistic
stories
COVERAGE: Viewers have power to protest plethora of shows like
‘When Animals Attack! Part 4’
By Paolo Bayless
If the average Bruin tried to discern the role of the media by
turning on the TV, he would come to the inevitable conclusion that
its chief role is to provide non-stop coverage of the daily LAPD
high-speed chase. Seriously. There definitely appears to be a clear
trend in which the media is increasingly filled with accounts of
mayhem.
This trend seems to be a result of the growing awareness by
corporate America of sensational media’s profitability. To maximize
their audience, the media seems to be relying more than ever on a
rather interesting mixture of hype, melodrama and
sensationalism.
Nowhere is this sensationalism more apparent than in local TV
news. Every story seems to be dubbed "unbelievable," "grizzly" or
"shocking". This dialogue would seem more appropriate on a carnival
midway, but it has become necessary to entice today’s violence-numb
viewers.
I don’t believe there is anything drastically wrong with this
sort of melodramatic commentary and content. I equate this with any
other sort of company trying to sell me something. I don’t actually
believe Colgate when they tell me that their new toothbrush is
"revolutionary," but if it’s half price with my grocery store card,
then I might get it.
Let’s be honest. We have only ourselves to blame. In a society
where "When Stunts Go Wrong" is such a ratings bonanza that they
have to make a sequel, how can we blame the media? I’ll be the
first to admit that every time one of these high speed chases takes
place, I’m the one who is jumping up and down yelling, "Shoot out
the tires!" in front of the TV.
On the other hand, what is truly dangerous and must be
controlled is when the media takes it upon itself to create the
news. Recent examples of this are the Dateline program in which a
vehicle was rigged to explode and the premature condemnation of
Richard Jewel in the Olympic Park bombing.
With this in mind, we cannot just ignore the activity of the
media, deeming its impact inconsequential. If you doubt me,
remember the fate of former President Nixon, with an emphasis on
"former."
The good news in all of this is that the media marketplace
remains a "buyer’s market." The fact that such an overwhelming
number of news channels, periodicals and countless other media
outlets exists means that these companies are highly responsive to
their customer’s preferences.
Therefore, the role of the media is really in the hands of the
public. It is you who can choose what you want to see, hear and
read, and the manner in which you prefer it to be presented. I can
only humbly request of you to keep the police chase coverage enact;
it is a nice substitute for HBO.