Positives

I write this blog for my own mental health. I expose myself to a lot of news. Most of it upsets me because I have doubt it is presented appropriately.

There are many considerations related to appropriate handling of news items. Here are some of the larger concerns:

• Is the item of timely importance?
• Is the report detailed enough to properly inform the reader?
• Is the report balanced?
• Is the report based on fear, loathing or some other strong emotion?
• Is the item informing or educating or both?
• Does the item provide logical extensions for the readers to pursue on their own? 

These will do nicely as a start!

The importance of timeliness has more to do with completeness of facts than with speed of breaking the news to an unsuspecting audience. The latter has shock value and maybe only that. The former is more appropriate because it attempts to fully report what happened, who is involved, where it occurred and why it is important. The consequences of the event should be suggested not concluded unless such is clearly observable.

Jumping the gun on other reporters may be worthy for the reporter but most likely is an incomplete and unworthy news item for public consumption. We see a lot of these with ‘breaking news’ banners everywhere on TV and internet news services.

Getting the details is important. All of the needed details to support some understanding and reasonable conclusions for the short term is not only helpful for the audience, but a reasonable standard of performance for the media. More data is better as long as it is relevant.

An example: A northern Illinois policeman was killed on duty. A massive man hunt was organized for nearly a month to find the two suspected attackers. Ballistic analysis began to raise questions early on; the policeman was killed by his own gun. Signs of struggle did not support defensive circumstances. A suggestion began that the death might have been a suicide. And today we learned that is what the conclusion is. Death by suicide. At this point we do not know the why, just the tragedy that a decorated, courageous former military hero turned police hero ended his own life.

The glimmers of what this story would turn out to be were present in early reports. But news handling led the public to a different conclusion for weeks – now months – before a better, more logical conclusion was made.  [Note: turns out the victim had appropriated public funds for personal use and was about to be found out so he took his own life disguised as on-duty for whatever reason.]

Balanced reporting is another issue. Is the presentation of facts skewed at all by ideology, political warp or personalities? How do we recognize such? And when do we see it?

Speaking only for myself I had suspicions about Brian Williams long before it became a known fact that he had embellished his reporting and in fact misled the public. His posture was too well modulated for me to believe he was reporting the full facts. I felt he was massaging reports to feel better to his audience, especially those who bought ad space or provided access to news pathways he could use later.

Fox News has been attacked enough that I think they are beginning to alter how they write and present the news. Identifying as a republican or conservative news outlet may be good for their profits, but it is not good for their professional standing in the news community. Their public will abandon them quickly if they lose their credibility. And most people think that has already happened. They are struggling to right their ship. It might be too late.

But alternative news outlets are not a lot better. MSN is much too democrat and liberal to be labeled objective. One watches their reports knowing about their bias and then makes adjustments.

I usually avoid all reports based on fear – “Huge Fire Envelopes Entire Block Downtown; Many Lives Lost!” or “Horrendous auto crash snuffs out teen lives; details at 11 pm.”  You know all about this sort of thing. It took me years to finally understand these news leads were actually attempts to build ratings for news shows.

If it is really shocking and important, news reports will break into programming and inform the public of the event. Earthquakes, forest fires, tsunamis, plane crashes in populated areas, spectacular film coverage of catastrophes – all are examples of break-in news items. So are reports of deaths of significant leaders or icons of public adoration.

How a news item is handled is another dimension to consider. We all need to be informed of what has happened. But our education as to why this is important for us to know is maybe more important than other considerations. Of course full understanding takes time, sometimes generations. But if news organizations feel an event is critical to understanding our world, then it ought to be brought forward and its importance shared. Those conclusions are always open to interpretation, so the reporting needs to suggest caution and open minds to consider other options. This is healthy handling of the news.

And finally, does the news story provide helpful leads for the audience to research on their own? Helping the public start healthy discussions with others is always a good result of good reporting. Ask yourself when you last encountered such a thing?

When I view a news program, interview or panel discussion, I expect some rigor in the proceedings. Presidential debates (one can hardly truly call them that!) should have intelligent questions with appropriate follow up. Also, if a responder is flim flaming that needs to be pointed out and the participants held accountable. It is not gotcha news gathering, nor is it biased. It is educational for the audience. Is this candidate or responder handling facts responsibly and accurately?

The media ought not be a handy accomplice to political nonsense.

As an audience do we feel educated by the news program or used? That is the test we should focus on. My hunch is the tests will fail all too often. That would explain why I don’t watch much TV news programs!

So I write my doubts. Here. For all to see. Dumb or not, this is my mental health aid as I continue to encounter sheer nonsense on public air waves.

November 5, 2015