Media: My question to you
Sunday October 18, 2009
Categories: Public Issues
Why is our media so fixated on balloon boy and his silly parents, while ignoring the judge in Louisiana who chooses not to marry an interracial couple?
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Scot McKnight is a widely-recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. He is the Karl A. Olsson Professor in Religious Studies at North Park University (Chicago, Illinois). A popular and witty speaker, Dr. McKnight has given interviews on radios across the nation, has appeared on television, and is regularly asked to speak in local churches and educational events. Dr. McKnight obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Nottingham (1986). Click to continue reading Scot McKnight's Bio...
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Is racism old news? I wonder. The balloon story is too sensational to let it pass. But I hardly ever try to understand the media. Ratings=money, that what motivates them.
This is Postman's prediction, though, isn't it? The important will not be censored, just buried in a sea of entertainment. If there is great video or a story with a word like "cheerleader" in the title, that story will trump an event that has important information but lacks the entertainment value.
Because no one likes to be made to look foolish.
Hmmmm... Video of a loose silver balloon with the possibility of a child on board at 5,000 feet. Something falls out. Hmmmm ... I can't possibly think of a reason why this video is more interesting than 2 people at a courthouse.
There are many reasons, some nefarious, some mundane. Dan @ 15 is right that, in a visual medium, stories with easy-to-cut-to video will be privileged. But there is also the TV news hierarchy of people in distress:
very young>young>very old>middle aged
female>male
if adult, parent>nonparent
attractive>unattractive
American>non-American
white*>brown>black
*bonus points for blondes
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