When
our founding fathers established the constitution of the
United States, one of the reasons they did so, if not the
main reason was to distinguish our newly formed
government from the oppressivness of England. The first
amendment in particular makes that distinction. Prior to the
establishment of our government, any written words that dare
challenge English policies were not only subject to
censorship, but were also punishable by law. Freedom of the
press had to be established if we were to honor those who died
for liberty in the revolutionary war. Moreover, the writers of
the first amendment recognized the need of an unrestrained
free press to check the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary
branches of our government. Unbiased news coverage was viewed
as an essential part of maintaining the integrity of our
nation.
Smart
fellas, those founding fathers, they saw a lot of things
coming. Unfortunately for us, they did not have clairvoyance
enough to predict the invention of television, the impact of
ad revenue on the news media, or the future importance of
barely clothed pop stars prematurely parenting. What was
originally intended as a means to keep government honest, and
politicians principled by reporting impartial facts to their
constituents, has itself become compromised. Whether by design
or circumstance, the toll this has taken on American culture
has been devastating. News in America has for the most part,
stopped being news, and has become
"newsertainment".
The business of news organizations is much the same as
with any other media outlet. They rely on ad revenue to turn a
profit, and like any other business, profit is their main
motivation. The volume of those who tune in to their show
every night determines the rate by which they can charge for
ad revenues, and it has become incumbent upon those
responsible for turning a profit to do whatever it takes to
increase viewer ship, even if it comes at the expense of
journalistic integrity. It usually does. Rather than do what
the first amendment originally intended, news programs often
find themselves shamelessly looking for ways to coerce people
to watch.
News
teases that are designed to frighten people into tuning in are
common, which are usually followed by what amounts to a
non-story that would offend the sensibility of anyone with
common sense ("Death in the classroom and the dangers to your
children, tonight on the 6 o'clock news"). Many stoop low enough
to employ a "wacky" weather guy, or a cleavage sporting
anchorwoman. Some news programs have even wandered so far off
the path of journalism that they incorporate dance numbers,
offer fashion advice, and devote more time to movie revues
than the President. Some resort to a nightly "feel good"
story, that while appealing to the sensitivity of K-mart
shoppers everywhere, have little to do with actual news.
Stories about an 8 year old spelling prodigy, or a skate
boarding cat are hardly what Edward R. Murrow would have
called a "scoop".
Likewise, what the News media is most commonly guilty
of is their consistent reporting of entertainment news rather
than world, economic, or even local news. For most of the
country, the private lives of celebrities is common knowledge,
yet many would be challenged to name who their state senators
are, or who the speaker of the house is. Hell, many Americans
don't even know what the speaker of the house is.
Sports and entertainment stories that have little or no impact
on people's lives, other than how they are going to amuse
themselves, have regularly become the lead "news" items of the
day, while the economy, the war, and legislation go relatively
unreported. There are events that shape our country that occur
daily. Things constantly happen all over the world that are of
vital importance. In their quest for ratings, the news often
disregards what is meaningful for what is amusing. As a result
politicians have become much less culpable for their records
in regard to how it impacts the people they represent, and
much more accountable to how their sound bites are received,
and what their public perception is on a personal level,
rather than on a professional one.
It can
be argued like with our government, that we Americans
have the news media we deserve. Some people become outraged
over the details of whatever inane drivel is spoon-fed to them
on their nightly news, others are outraged that such nonsense
is presented to them as news in the first place.
Unfortunately, the former group presently outnumbers the
latter.
2008 promises to be a good one. Things
are coming together for "Unlearn! the show. I will keep
you informed as the details come. 
