April 21, 2013
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The Coverage
Like everybody else in America, I watched a lot of the coverage of the bombings at the Boston Marathon and the subsequent manhunt for the brothers responsible. We can go on and on discussing how and why something like this happens but I’d like to focus on the media’s coverage of the whole story. The media is one entity that everybody seems to complain about all the time. Republicans and Democrats both agree that the media sucks however they believe it sucks for different reasons. In some respects, the media can do no right. Ever. The media is kind of like an umpire at a baseball game; nobody ever compliments when an umpire does a good job but instead half the people watching have an issue with a call and the other half have an issue with the next call. In other words, there is no winning if you are an umpire. The same goes for the media.
But in this case it is totally justified. First of all, we have gotten to the point where we are such an on demand instant society that it is more important to report the incorrect news first then to be second to report the correct news. And this is nothing new, this has been going on for years, after all just ask President Gore. Oh. Wait. I forgot, he didn’t actually win, not that you would know that by the way the media reported it. Or how about the Supreme Court’s ruling on Obamacare when it got overturned last June. Awww shit, that’s right, it was not overturned, as it turns out CNN doesn’t like to read full paragraphs before reporting the news. Which brings us to this week when multiple media outlets reported that a suspect had been caught when in reality no arrests had been made. Don’t they ever learn their lesson?
I made no bones about hiding my liberal bias. I’m a liberal and quite proud of it so naturally I avoid the ultra conservative FOX News at all cost. But, I also avoid the uber liberal MSNBC as well; I’m biased myself so the last thing I want from my news is bias. In the realm of 24 hour news networks that leaves……………uhhhhgggghhhh……….CNN. Oh CNN. I’ve always said their only bias is with how great they think they are. If only their reporting was as great as their arrogant attitude. CNN is kind of like your typical American teenager: too fucking arrogant and cocky to realize how stupid and clueless they are.
The one thing that all these networks seem to have in common though is that they seem to all LOVE a tragedy. Big stories like this drive up ratings. So of course, what do they do, they go balls out and deliver constant wall to wall coverage of the tragedy. It might be over the top for me to suggest this, but I could almost swear that they are happy when something this happens. It’s like they think it gives them a chance to show off their reporting “skills” even though said “skills” are lacking in facts and accuracy.
But this is the society we live in. Unfortunately the media reflects society and what we want. They essentially are only giving us what we want: on demand answers as quick as humanly possible. Look the media can be a wonderful tool. The media can do great and important things like shedding a light on important stories that people otherwise would not find out. Just like society and everyday people, the media can and has made a difference in people’s lives. The question is, how do we get back to the time when the media did make a difference? How can the media be a force for good instead of ineptitude?
