TV news, by and large, is a waste of time.
At least that’s what I’ve noticed while watching big news networks like FOX or CNN. As much as I used to love watching the news, it’s getting old. So when I found Current TV, a documentary news channel that broadcasts stories that your average Couric-wannabe won’t report, I went crazy over this fresh new take on reporting the news.
Because they’re owned by corporations, major news networks have more of an incentive to not only spin the news, but entertain their audiences. While entertaining viewers might not be their fault (because they have to hold the attention of the easily-bored masses), the “infotainment” approach to news is played out. Those of my news-viewing peers agree that it’s time for a style of reporting the news that isn’t tired. This is a style of reporting that Current TV has already adopted.
One of Current TV’s award-winning news shows, Vanguard, documents stories you wouldn’t ever hear about on well-known news channels. Mail-order brides, the African drug trade, the OxyContin trade between Florida and Kentucky, and the ever-controversial porn industry are just a few of the subjects Mariana Van Zeller and her crew of intrepid reporters cover for Current TV.
Stories that are the subject of Current TV documentaries actually have merit. Informing the public of issues that matter will inevitably lead to a population that doesn’t need to be entertained when they’re watching the news. Making a story out of the most popular celebutante’s latest arrest isn’t news””it’s gossip. Unfortunately, that’s the depths that journalism has sunk to in the name of money. Not only is watching movie stars get arrested entertaining, but it’s cheaper to send a reporter and cameraman to Los Angeles to cover that story than it is to send them to Africa or Asia to cover something that actually matters.
Networks that constantly try to one-up each other by reporting the same mindless stories on a regular basis dominate the news industry. In that kind of market, integrity takes a backseat and corporate interests start to dictate what is newsworthy. The approach that Current TV takes to informing the masses is just that: informational. The station doesn’t try to entertain viewers; it tries to report important issues responsibly. As harsh as it may sound, mainstream news channels don’t report the news responsibly anymore.
Although society is so entertainment-driven, it’s crucial that news networks stop trying to entertain their audiences. Information””not fun””should be the reason people watch the news. Until we, the consumers, change our viewing preferences as they relate to news, major news networks won’t have the incentive to change the way they do business. In this day and age that is so pushed by entertainment, it’s easy to be bored out of your mind while watching the news. Even though watching a news report on living conditions in third-world countries might not be the most entertaining thing to watch, we live in a country where information is power. And the more informed you are, the more power you have. Hopefully the day when network news and news viewers realize that comes soon.