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| Sep 11, 2008 2:44 pm |
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re: re: Have we become the "Sound Bite Nation"? |
Kevin Burns
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Patrick,
Network television is actively seeking more emotion to feature on the 6 o'clock news. Having to watch family members respond to reporters questions after tragic events is painful - not for me but for those who are relentlessly dogged by the media in hopes of getting a sound bite. The way that television cameras are thrust into the faces of family members who have just (within hours) lost a loved one is NOT good television but, in my opinion, a blatant attempt to boost ratings of the self-serving media outlets which results in higher ad revenues. And we, the general public, seem to lap it up.
How thrusting a camera in someone's face and asking for rational discourse in the midst of mourning can be even perceived as doing something beneficial for the victims is beyond me. The news has become a ratings battle. The more sensational the higher the ratings. The higher the ratings, the bigger the ad revenue.
Courtesy and consideration for people during a difficult time is minimized and instead, "get better ratings" becomes the new mantra - get them at whatever cost. And is the media competing with other media outlets? Not so much as they are battling for ratings with the likes of YouTube. Being "scooped" by a YouTube video is embarrassing to News Directors and so the aggressiveness of the reporters and cameramen attempts to save face in their respective media outlets.
As a former member of the media for eighteen years I've turned off the television news as a result. I will choose what medium I expose myself to - it is my choice to make - not the media's.Private Reply to Kevin Burns (new win) |
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