News Media is Failing America

News cares more about followers than getting the story right

News+Media+is+Failing+America

Thomas Dickerson, Staff Writer

The news is the largest source of media for Americans, whether it be for good or for bad. It presents us with important information, educating us on what’s happening, not just in our country, but in the world. News sources are unbiased, giving accurate information to their audience and basing their stories on the truth, or at least that’s how it’s supposed to be.

Today, however, the news is often very negative. It makes people angry and upset by using clickbait titles to draw you in, is fake in general, and also gives personal views of politics, which both angers audiences and fuels a negative fire nationwide.

The news has used many unproductive tactics to increase viewing numbers, but the use of fake, or exaggerated, titles to create fear and curiosity is cruel. The actual events are something in need of being discussed. However, nowadays, it seems the news just uses these horrific events to get people watching their program, instead of supporting people coping and aiding them in feeling better about the situation.

 A prime example of this basic situation is with a famous podcaster I often listen to. A tweet was posted about a situation with said podcaster and the news rolled with it, causing huge negative backlash, and ultimately causing his podcast to be shut down for a short period of time. The tweet was fake and the news, without any context or evidence, used it, releasing many news articles with fake information. When the news found out it was false they renamed their headlines to say, “This podcaster is denying these accusations” and this “podcaster can’t admit to these accusations”. Instead of accepting responsibility they drove it in, blaming the podcaster once more, throwing more false claims back. 

The news is flawed, it is that simple. A solution to fix this would be researching prior to a story’s release, getting views, or an interview, from the podcaster for his/her side of the story. I think newscasters and the journalists need to be held responsible for their wrongdoings. They often get away with this, and at some point it will only get worse, really hurting people, and their careers. It’s upsetting to see the level of unreliability in the news these days, and how they only look for a catchy title, instead of putting in work to give the people informative reports.