One thing I think it helps to keep in mind about the media is that as part of our capitalist society, it is by and large, a FOR PROFIT industry. And therefore, as such, the idea is to get as may eyes and ears as possible on whatever medium you are working in thereby driving up the value. More eyes on your product means more can be charged for advertising and more MONEY can be made. This may seem a relatively obvious point, but goes a long way in explaining why you see what you see as much as you see it in the media. Many people express disappointment in what is offered in terms of saturation coverage and claim to be disinterested.
To this I offer two additional points: 1. Yes, much of what is cranked out by the main steam entertainment and news industry is garbage. But unfortunately, if we were truly honest, we would have to admit, so is much of life. Walk into the average bookstore, and I bet you are not going to be interested in 90% of what you find there. Or art gallery. Or record store. Maybe 10% of what is out there in life is truly good, honest, provocative work. For some reason though, and maybe because it is beamed straight into your living room, people feel entitled to hammer TV as being crap. Much of it is, I agree. But some smaller percentage can be magical. Put your energies into seeking out that product.
And 2. I am not sure I believe you. One of my favorite poll questions ever asked was during the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal – simply, are you following this story? Some 80% said no. When asked if they thought their friends and neighbors were, some similar percentage said yes. Which really tells us they were actually following the story, just too proud to admit it. The bottom line is somebody is watching this stuff. All the way from 24/7 coverage of Michael Jackson to the Real Housewives, people are soaking it all up or this kind of programming simply would be driven under by sheer economics.
Particularly now that we can measure what shows and stories people are interested in by how many clicks they get on-line. The more clicks, the more coverage. It is really that simple. You might not like it, you may even be telling the truth when you say you are not watching, but someone is. Please stop pounding the media for giving the people what they want. You can also give up saying that reality TV has run its course. Being unscripted makes it cheap and easy to produce. Every day another reality TV show project is announced. This genre is not going anywhere I am afraid until and unless people really stop watching. Good reality TV generates a lot of heat, which makes it the perfect television product (see two blog entries ago for why).
I am also tired of the doomsayers and their predictions that newspapers, and close behind, television are dead industries. When magazines and radio came out, they predicted books were dead. When TV and VHS came along, they predicted movies were dead. When Tivo and the Internet caught on, they predicted TV and newspapers were dead. Really dead. It just does not work like that. The market fragments and industries adapt and morph, but I spent a good chunk of the day yesterday watching TV – on a giant HD TV screen – and loving it. I am also in the middle of two books. I know I am not alone. There will always be a place for each of these media, what is yet to be sorted for newspapers and TV is exactly what that place will be in the context that they have to ultimately be profitable.
Next week …. Why Gov. Sanford hangs on …
Okay, you comment box is lonely, so I'll comment. :-)
ReplyDeleteI think cable news is currently HORRIBLE and at it's worst since CNN debuted some 25? years ago? It has become a bunch of information pollution with more arguing, entertaining and opining than actual reporting facts. It just came out that CNN is now 3rd...this is the network that started the 24 hour news business. It regularly gets pummeled by FOX, who as far as I can see, doesn't even hide it's agenda or bias in any way.
How did this happen? Well...capitalism. I fear (not really) what conservatives would say about my opinion on this, but I think information with network news has been hurt by capitalism. I worked in and around the CNN newsroom 92-95 and the competition used to be "getting it wrong or getting it right." Now the competition is FOX and MSNBC and ratings. So, when FOX goes infotainment, shows car chases, has supermodels as anchors, has 15 shows with people arguing a day and goes so conservative that they grabbed 50% of the American audience...well, CNN HAS to counter. So, they followed Fox and made sure they held on to their "liberal" audience. Suddenly, the integrity of journalism is thrown out the window because they don't want to go bankrupt.
It's sad. I used to be a news junkie. Now, I can barely stand it. Cable news might be strong financially and it's still good for coverage during breaking emergencies, but the in-between stuff is a giant waste of time and actually hurtful to a large part of America who think they are getting "facts & information" by listening to Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity. They're not...it is noise, nothing more.
good points Kevin. That's why I get most of my "news" from Jon Stewart!
ReplyDeleteHa! It's funny you say that, because I do, too. It's sad when a comedian asks tougher and more thorough questions than the journalists out there. Argh, drives me crazy.
ReplyDeleteI just don't see this changing, either. It's sort of an "end of innocence" deal. Oh well...we're in the "information pollution" age, right?
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ReplyDeleteSad? Maybe a little but there is a long history of sharp political commentary coming from "comedians" starting with Mark Twain and Will Rogers. There is still plenty of innocence to go around.
ReplyDeleteI was feeding my 15 month old grandson, Hudson, the other day and it once again struck me, as it has for almost 30 years that this process is a lot like TV programmers and viewers.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't mind what you put on the spoon, they will usually eat it if you tell them it is good. Unfortunately, as both Kevin and Kip say, this theory of "shove it down their throats, they"ll eat it" has become the norm in the news business today. I wish there was some place where we could go for major news coverage as we did at CNN in the late 80s and for most of the 90s. These talking hards shows are garbage and shed little to no light on a topic.
Ed Turner, God rest his soul, and those of his ilk could spot a real news story three -six month out and CNN would be all over it. We also, as producers and reporters, had to come up with our own enterprise stories daily just to feed the "news monster." Sadly those are days gone by, and news is no longer the star. Its cutie babes and hunks who have not history or experience behind them, but we sure look good.
All it takes is one Networks to have the courage to Pledge we are changing our format. No talking heads unless it advances a story and we are going to cover items that you should and need to know about. Further we are going to stop interpreting the news. We will generate news from around the world and you can depend on us to be the lead on events. We will not defend any one person, or cause, and we will not "saddle up" to anyone to gain favor or access.
Case in point, note ABC's GMA defending the Obama "stare" photo this morning. They go to great lengths to explain the photo and offer an explanation. Let the White House explain/spin. You merely report the point, and is this a story in the first place.
So---WHo will be the first to say this is a Michael Jackson free story day. No mention of Michael or the events, unless there is REAL news to report.
I'm done!!!!