“Actually, soap operas provide some reasonably good examples to help make sense of what makes one thing a better news story than another. The same things that are ridiculously overdone in the hyperdramatic afternoon shows that most people do not admit they watch are essentially the same elements that guide the selection of news stories and get overemphasized in the effort to fit news into the dramatic story structure” ( Belle & Mash, 258). I enjoyed the comparative structure between soaps and news media, as I believe I actually learned something new because of the way it was addressed.
Bottom line, big news revolves around; sex, conflict, unusualness, and tragedy, all of which are part of the dramatic imperative. Sex affects how journalists report the news because “sex gets people’s attention […]. A sexual element adds to the presumed newsworthiness of a story […]” (Belle & Mash, 260). Conflict is self-explanatory. However, for the sake of my bulletin I’ll add to that by writing that, people are more entertained by conflict than by peaceful, fact filled stories. Just contemplate how many people will bring up how someone else made them watch a “boring” documentary. Then compare that to how many people talk about (with a high degree of excitement I might add) the latest fight occurred between Brittney Spears and her ex, over custody, driving sober (lol) or any of the many other conflictual events that occur between the two of them. War versus peace in the news is a no-brainer. Unusual stories also are more attention grabbing then a story that is about something mundane. For example, a story about someone dying from an unusual strand of the flu (no matter how minute the chance of it spreading) is more interesting then the hundreds of thousands of people who may at any one time have “the flu”. Finally, tragedy of course is an attention-getting scenario. A story of a hurricane is only interesting if it threatens lives.
How does all of this affect the way the news is reported? It is important to remember that, “news outlets are not selling the news, they are selling you, or more accurately your attention” (Belle & Mash, 257). News media is a “for-profit” business. Therefore, the journalists are responsible for finding the most interesting, least expensive story to report. I did a research paper on the bias in news and it revolved around one particular news story, that of the “Ted Haggard Scandal”. It was very interesting how I concluded that the news is not necessarily biased by lying about any particular thing, but rather they are biased by omission. Journalists also increase the interest by omitting certain details that may “bore” the story.
As far as politics vs. Media is concerned Walter Lippmann explains, “a free press is not a privilege, but an organic necessity in a great society. Without criticism and reliable and intelligent reporting, the government cannot govern (qtd. in Brauntwarth, 2). The question is has the business aspect of media gotten in the way of “reliable and intelligent” reporting? In my opinion, yes. However, after reading the text I realized that I saw the news as being specifically conservatively biased and have thus learned that is not necessarily the truth. People’s opinions are garnered from an agreement reality. These days that primarily comes from the media. The sad truth is, unless some political figure or story has part of the dramatic imperative attached to himself or herself or the story it is typically not seen on the news. So then how does the average citizen have a chance of even remotely understanding what is happening in the world of politics and therefore be an “informed” enough citizen to make an intelligent vote when the time comes?
The news story of Senator Larry Craig is a perfect example of a political story that has been over reported because of the sexual “scandal” involved. However, should it be? So what if the man is gay or not, perhaps if homosexuals (especially those in office) weren’t treated the way they were they wouldn’t try so hard to hide who they are.
Van Belle, Douglas A & Kenneth M. Mash. "A Novel Approach to Politics" Washington, D.C. CQ Press: 2007
