Is negativity on the news really necessary?

[ThatOneComrade 1,091]

On a 24-hour news schedule you've got to milk everything out as much as you can. So if that means that the tragedies are easier to drag out, they're gonna do that. Of course, they're still selective of which tragedies they broadcast more, but that's a story for another day. :/

[Pinkie-Guy 563]

Yes, the "news" will print whatever sells, but it's not really news.  It's tabloid journalism, news to entertain you.  That doesn't mean that there isn't real, honest news out there.  You just have to know where to find it.  I find that PBS's news coverage to be a lot closer to the ideal and The New York Times does a fantastic job in its reporting.  I find that "news" with a strongly negative spin is hardly news at all.  They cherry pick stories so you'll buy the paper or watch the channel.  It's all dollars and cents.

 

You need to be able to separate opinion, editorial and speculation from actual news.  Recognize the bias for what it is and don't confound it with real news.  The 24 hour news channels aren't really news.  Remember, they have to fill up 24 hours of programming everyday, 365 days per year.  There's bound to be quite a bit of filler.

 

News isn't necessarily what you want to hear.  News is what you need to hear.

[Dark Horse 12,962]

Aye, like a good drama, bad news is something that most people will glue themselves to the TV for. As some others have mentioned, sometimes its even used for sensationalizing and perhaps influencing people through fear and emotional distress. I suppose its a double edged sword, on one hand it keeps people sharp and alert to any trouble that might affect them, but on the other hand it can sometimes lead people to overreact and panic unnecessarily. And then there's the utterly pointless "negative" news about some celebrities personal life, most news corps or tabloids just love to dive in and fabricate some drama over even the smallest of mistakes for them. Why are their personal issues so much more interesting and worthy of attention then the rest of us? Most of the time its just crap.

 

I personally don't really watch the news though unless something really big going on, like the situation in Paris a few days ago. The rest of it, while I respect may be of interest to some, is usually just unnecessary negativity to me.

[HereComesTom 2,268]

I agree with other posters:  the news picks the stories it thinks will get it more views, and that means negativity.  Blame it on human nature, I guess...makes me wonder what being a reporter of all this is like...

 

That being said, the news can ALSO do its share of lying:  I recall a story my computer science professor told me about Y2K:  someone came to the college with a camera to ask his professional opinion about it.  He insisted vehemently that Y2K wouldn't cause any problems.  Then he explained what people thought it was, showing how many programs just used the last two digits of the year, drawing it out on a whiteboard.  Then after that whiteboard-explanation, he again insisted it wouldn't harm anything.

 

When they finally aired the interview, guess what they showed?  Did they allay the fears of the public and honestly show the information that the expert wanted to convey to the public, that Y2K was harmless?  No, they only showed the part where he was showing two digits vs. four on the whiteboard.  That was and is a terrible lie of omission, and made him (and me!) not trust the new media again.

[GONEFOREVER 518]

If they didn't focus so much on the bad things, then they wouldn't have enough content to stay in business.

 

Nuff said.

[Cwanky 17,602]

Humans like all creatures, are flawed and prone to acts of violence and harm towards each other and everything else. As a human entity, its only natural that the news itself feeds off of that negativity and the public in turn which feeds off of the news. Its an unfortunate but necessarily reality. It is through the negativity though that positivity can emerge, no matter how sparse.

 

Nothing lost. Nothing gained.

 

If you want positivity, you have to find and make it yourself. Take a break from the media and explore the world beyond.

[CC_Maud_Pie 6,431]

As long as the news story is true instead of a way to scare the masses into doing something, then it's necessary. People have a right to know what's going behind doors and in the world. It's called freedom of the press. If the news is just propaganda, then it isn't good.

[WanderingBrony 34]

What if this were to be the crystal empire and there were to be as much negativity there as much there as there is on the news. Your year will probably be thrown out to the wind.

[Twilight Dirac 721]

Well how else are you supposed to find out how doomed you and everyone else are?

[pakicetus 312]

Whatever makes money gets published. Usually negativity, because fear sells.

[SCS 7,537]

Negativity in the news, and the media in general, has deeply troubled me for a long time. It is worrying that so many modern "journalists" prioritize sensationalism over relating the truth, because sensationalism is what gets them attention, money, and power. 
 
Of course, the media is a two-way street. Journalists will put what they will on the news, but we have to choose to view it and care about it. This speaks to a deeper issue in humanity that I have experienced many times: taking an excessive curiosity in evil, fixating on the darkness. If we want to be better than that, we have to choose to be.
 
Now, horrible things do take place in the world on a regular basis. There are certain issues that I feel adults should be informed about, no matter how negative they are. What I take issue with is when reporting the truth turns into worshipping and sensationalizing the worst humanity has to offer. That might earn a television network millions of dollars today, but those millions will be nothing more than scorched dust if humanity ends up obliterating itself in a nuclear holocaust once the last of its humanity has been chipped away.
 
What we see and hear has a tremendous impact on how we feel, and subsequently who we are. If we constantly fill ourselves with horror and violence we are sowing the seeds of cynicism, depression, pessimism, resentment and hatred within ourselves while turning a blind eye to all the love and goodness that is also in the world. If we fill ourselves with good things and always shut out the bad, while we will be planting the seeds of joy and hope within ourselves the world would be falling to pieces around us. The healthiest tree cannot take root and grow if there is no soil.
 
This is why we must live both within and without ourselves. One of the most fundamental laws of life and reality is that of balance. In the case of the news, adults should be aware of the evil in the world without sensationalizing it, worshipping it, or filling themselves with it. We should make a conscious effort to fill ourselves with the light of joy, hope, and love without turning a blind eye to the shadows.
 
Through this balance, each tree takes root. Through the planting and nurturing of light and hope each tree grows toward the heavens, strong, resilient, a sentinel against the darkness. Periods of darkness will pass, but with the cultivation of light each tree will soar higher into the sky, crushing the darkness until it no longer exists.
 
Such an endeavor must occur, collectively and individually, in order for harmony to be achieved.
 
As long as the media worships and sensationalizes horror and violence, and as long as we choose to consume it, we enable a self-perpetuating cycle of negativity. This negativity inhibits the growth of the seeds needed for wisdom and peace.
 
The key is to be aware of evil and to overcome it without giving evil the power to mold your character. Seeing this fact reflected in the news media would be a refreshing sight.

[HereComesTom 2,268]

 

 

The key is to be aware of evil and to overcome it without giving evil the power to mold your character. Seeing this fact reflected in the news media would be a refreshing sight.

 

If only they dwelt on any subject long enough to reflect like that.

 

Sorry if this throws it off-topic a little, but another thing I don't like about the news is that they tend not to go in-depth with most stories and just tell you a few aspects of it briefly before moving on to the next story; I feel like that lack of detail dumbs events down to the point where they seem simple, when often, they're very complex.  Keeping people unaware of the complexity---I worry that's making people dumber.

 

Mix that with all the negativity---yeah, not a good recipe.  Especially not for the tree of hope and joy you've spoken of, SCS.

[RainbowTashie 378]

I mean, I know there must be a lot of positive things out there the news can replace other than the negatives going on around the world. I'm aware that some of it is essential, like to alert people of a killer, amber alert, etc etc those kinds of things are definitely important! What I mean is, little stories that people can do without. I would give examples, but it's a little hard to explain.

 

Do you think most of the negative stuff the news plasters is really worth sharing? Or should the news be giving people a better inside look on the world today?

 

ignorance is bliss it would be good if the positive things that happen were a bit more published in the media. It's like you hear a lot of plane crashes but you never hear of all the safe landings it's that kind of thing.

[KatonRyu 1,033]

It's been stated several times in this thread already. Drama sells. Reporters should find polarizing stories and interview as many pundits (God I hate that word) as humanly possible to spark discussion. They should be unbiased, but even if they were truly objective there would still need to be a selection of items to broadcast, and misery sells way better than optimism.

[TSD 86]

Unfortunately, news media is the crook used to herd the sheep.

 

So yes, much easier to manipulate the masses through fear and negativity.

[legionbrony 107]

That's why I don't watch the news on television.  It's just full of negativity.  I made the decision to never watch news when I realized my grandmother is the way she is because she watches Fox News 24/7, and it turned her into a paranoid judgmental depressing negative person.  I have no doubt the other news stations would do exactly the same thing, although perhaps you wouldn't sound so ridiculous saying things like "Obama is the antichrist".

 

But still, my point.  Not watching news.  I get my news from people, and occasionally the internet.

[Splashee 28,566]

On 12/29/2014 at 3:47 PM, Sugar Pea said:

Do you think most of the negative stuff the news plasters is really worth sharing?

Probably not. But the news world is as competitive as the rest of the world, and negativity sells.

[Fluttershyfan94 5,742]

I'm sure it has been said many times already on this thread but all it is really is that it simply sells better think about your own experience of it. "World economy has grown 3% total gdp" or "The worlds economy has not been growing as it should be" now which of those would you read.

There probably would be none interested in the three percent gdp growth as while it is simply a normal global gdp growth rate you would be far more interested in something being out of the ordinary. What! The worlds economy is cooling down how could this be well technically it is stable if you look at the data you can tell that population growth is on the decline so makes sense gdp would grow and honestly everything is as it should be haha yet people get so much more excited about an economic gloom don't they.

Edited April 26, 2020 by Fluttershyfan94

[EpicEnergy 23,224]

Not at all, I hate all the negativity on the news, but they show it just for the views and money.

[Concerned Bystander 2,903]

'Plane lands safely at its destination airport' is not news.  'Billions of people got through the day without being shot' is not news.  'Vast majority of the world's nuclear reactors functioning safely and within operational limits' is not news.

It's just the nature of existence that the big stories tend to be negative.  Most news outlets do indeed run 'feel good' stories about a people that have raised lots of money for charities, about animals being rescued from dangerous predicaments or helping people out of the same.  Most of these stories you probably don't pay all that much attention to, but when there is a huge natural disaster, terrorist attack or some other tragedy, that's what makes you take notice and that's what will stick in mind for days, months, years or even decades.