If News Casts Were Pills How Many Would You Be Taking a Day?

 

If we look at the national news media, available over the air, on cable systems, the Internet and national print media we have virtually unlimited access to what is going on in almost all the world at any given moment.

I like to look at each of these media outlets like I look at my medication’s - pills. If you break it down like this, the question becomes how many and how often do you take one of these pills each day. And it is even more interesting what effect they may have on you.

If you think you are just getting information on these newscasts think again. Since the turn of the century, the electronic news media has made a consistent and continuing move from reporting the news to shaping the news.

I began my news reporting career while I was still in high school working for a local radio station. I drove the mobile news cruiser on the weekends and reported stories that ranged from company picnics to car accidents. It was a small radio station, but it did have a news director. He taught me a lot. One of the first things he said was we do not make the news we report it.

The radio station was owned by the local newspaper and my news director's position was to let the newspaper do the editorializing.

Today there is virtually no nonbiased news reporting that you can see on the screen of your TV, computer, or smartphone.

Beginning in 2016 with the advent of Donald Trump's 1st presidency, the news media began losing both their objectivity and their professionalism. Screaming reporters at the presidential news conferences, commentary in the middle of reporting a news story and political bias have become everyday fair on virtually all the news outlets.

With the current situation in news reporting, I think it is time we started labeling these newscasts with side effects and warnings much like we do all the medications that are advertised on them.

You really need to understand when you are listening/watching these newscasts that the person talking to you and the person writing what that individual says has a bias that they are no longer prohibited from sharing. There are left wing news reporting operations right wing reporting news operations and there are people who say they are neutral and fair, but they are neither. So here are some suggestions that I think should be on the bottom of the screen when the talking heads are setting there and pontificating instead of reporting.

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Overexposure Warning
Overuse Risk: Prolonged exposure to 24-hour news cycles may result in burnout, fatalism, suicidal thoughts, or skewed perception of reality.

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