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What
used to be only a disturbing TV trend is now a well established
trick: Selling gossip, entertainment, and ads as news.
This
came about, in part, because of the deregulation binge of the
1980's. For example, in 1985, the federal
rules for the minimal amount of non-entertainment programming
were abolished. Also, FCC rules on how much advertising
could be broadcast per hour were eliminated. What's worse,
TV stations use all sort of tricks to package ads and gossip as
news. Here are some examples that IBLTV has found:
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1.
Selling sensationalism as news
911
Calls are Always Good for Ratings! Most
viewers probably know that much broadcast news is gossipy and...not
really news. For example, why should radio listeners or TV viewers
be subjected to hearing the recording of a distraught relative
as she frantically screams to a 911 operator that her loved ones
were just brutally murdered? This abuse of a person's privacy
and our sense that it somehow is okay to take part in an awful
moment in someone's life -- which has no news value other than
titilation -- is so commonplace, that even more respectable organizations
such as National Public Radio -- have resorted to such callous
techniques. (note: we have not supplied the audio of the 911 tape
that NPR aired, below)
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And during
a one-week period that IBLTV monitored KGAN news broadcasts, we
noticed that KGAN replayed a recording of a 9-1-1 in which an
upset family member called for help (KGAN 6:00 p.m. news, Friday,
April 8, 2005). It had zero news value, perhaps some "titilation
value", and certainly took away time from serious journalism.
Curiously, only KGAN, our local Sinclair station, aired this tape.
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2.
Ignoring News, Delivering the Trash
Although not as revolting
as broadcasting 911 calls, the wall-to-wall coverage of pointless
and sensational stories while ignoring vital stories is a much
more serious indictment of our news system.
As an illustration, IBLTV
recently surveyed the way in which a major news company covered
four different topics on their internet website:
1. Media consolidation
(or media reform)
2. Health care reform
(or health care costs)
3. The "runaway bride"
story, about Jennifer Willbanks' and how the authorities searched
for a pretty and wealthy white woman while she perpetrated a hoax.
4. The Michael Jackson
trial.
Survey Method:
In doing this investigation, we used this news network's search
engine to find news articles covering each of these stories. We
read each article for content, counted the number of stories and
the time period over which these stories were played. In some
cases (such as media consolidation and health care reform, we
had to search three years' worth of archives to find a meaningful
sample of stories. This is what we found:
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Results
Topic 1. In covering
issues of either media consolidation or media reform,
there we found a reporting rate less than 1 article per
year over a three-year period (May 2002 - May 2005). The
news media simply does not provide the public with information
about what their own lobbying efforts and deregulation are doing
to increase profits and reduce their service to the public. That's
what happens when 80% of what we watch is controlled by only five
Fortune-100 mega corporations!
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Topic
2. In covering health
care costs or health care reform issues, we found 2 articles
over a three-month span (from March 1 to May 31, 2005). This translates
to a yearly reporting rate of 8 articles per year.
Health care costs and reform issues regularly appear on public
opinion polls as one of Americans' top concerns. So why is there
so little reporting about the causes and possible cures for the
most expensive health-care delivery system in the world?
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3. In covering Ms. Jennifer
Wilbanks, the photogenic "Runaway Bride", coverage
was just a bit more generous, than what was given, say, health care
issues. Over a 34 day period (May through June 3, 2005), we found
15 news stories devoted to her travails, along with 5 video reports
that could be watched for a fee. Importantly, these reports were
about Wilbanks were AFTER it was reported that the whole thing was
a hoax! The yearly reporting rate of this non-news event would be
161 stories per year. |
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Topic
4. And finally, the Mother
of Must-cover Stories... The Michael Jackson trial! Over
a three-month period, IBLTV found 94 stories by this news organization
spanning over a 3-month period. There were many more articles....we
just got tired of reviewing them all. That equals a yearly rate
of a 476 stories per year on a story with minimal
news impact but plenty of gossip value.
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What news organization
is responsible for this crazy unbalance of substance and tripe?
It's none other than CNN.com -- the news organization
of TimeWarner, which had $40 billion in revenues in 2003 and is
the 32nd largest corporation, according to Fortune magazine. Touted
itself as America's premier news source, CNN, like so many other
news organizations, is killing our country's ability to act as
involved, informed citizens by feeding us drivel that spoils our
ability to ingest real news.
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3.
Local News shows have much more Advertising time than actual News!
Perhaps local TV news,
in the interest of accuracy, should be called the "5 O'Clock
Ad Show". IBLTV's survey of the local news broadcasts of
KCRG and KGAN reveal that both stations devote the largest amount
of time on their half-hour news shows on advertisements. Our survey
of over 20 evening news programs of both stations shows that between
10 and 12 minutes of their 30 minute news are paid advertising!
Furthermore, coverage of local news, once weather and sports are
stripped away, can be as low as 5 or 6 minutes!
And the way one station
inserts commericials is incredibly blatant. With a serious face,
an anchor introduces a news items: Backbiting among the
actors on the set of Desparate Housewives. He then cuts
away to a "reporter" who is actually advertising for
"Extra", a hollywood gossip program.
It is sobering to consider
the apparent little regard local stations give its viewers.
Can
any serious person claim that 5 or 6 minutes is enough time to
inform people about State and Local government acitivity and other
community events in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City?
At
a time when community cohesiveness is low -- and local television
news is one of the few ways of bringing us together -- is this
the recipe for a healthy community and good citizenship?
It falls to all of us to do something about it!
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