When the news first broke that Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370 had disappeared off radar screens, it seemed like another tragic, but ‘ordinary’ air-crash. When it became clear that this incident was far from ordinary, the world’s media flung themselves at the story with energy and relish. A modern-day mystery to rival the Marie Celeste was an unexpected gift to jaded news editors.
What has emerged since then is…..nothing. This has not stopped a flood of articles, news items and ‘special reports’ engaging in rampant speculation over the fate of the airplane. Experts in everything from aviation to psychology have promoted their theories with varying degrees of certainty; the net result of all this wisdom: still nothing.
Of course, it is entirely correct for the media to follow this story. What is unpalatable, however, is the media’s obsession with peddling just about any theory imaginable rather than simply stating that until the airplane is found, there is no way of knowing what happened to it. While ‘sorry’ might be the hardest word, ‘we don’t know’, seems to be the hardest phrase for the news media to use.
Understandably, there is no news in the media stating that there is no news, but the issue goes deeper than that. The news media need to keep us reading and watching because, in the interests of self-preservation, they need to keep us reading and watching. However noble their aspirations might be to inform, to influence or to challenge us, none of these can happen if they lose us as their audience.
Spreading the news and shaping public opinion costs money. There is a danger that the primary concern of newspapers becomes selling newspapers; the primary concern of TV companies becomes raising advertising revenue (or in the case of the BBC maintaining its ratings so that it can justify the licence fee). No one ‘in the industry’ is likely to admit this; rather, they will suggest that journalistic integrity always comes first: sales are just a means to an end.
Facing financial reality is inescapable if the media is to survive. What concerns me, however, is that by keeping one eye on the market, the other eye loses focus on what matters: hard news and informed opinion. When that focus is lost, folly is presented as informed opinion and nonsense is heralded as news.
Facing financial reality is inescapable if the media is to survive. What concerns me, however, is that by keeping one eye on the market, the other eye loses focus on what matters: hard news and informed opinion. When that focus is lost, folly is presented as informed opinion and nonsense is heralded as news.
No comments:
Post a Comment