"In the name of efficiency and profit margins we did nothing to help create a new generation interested in news." -Kovacs and Rosenthiel, p. 211
The above quote is all too true. Ratings, ratings, ratings. They sometimes seem like the most important thing on some news organizations minds.
The pressure to hype certain stories is very common in today's journalistic world. News organizations today follow a thrillist model, which mixes advertising and news content. Go to the grocery store, and in most magazines, and even some newspapers the front page is covered with stories of scandal, sex and betrayal. With all these choices, especially the choice between infotainment and hard news, what do you think the celebrity obsessed and click happy younger generations are going to choose?
As journalists, we need to learn to strike a balance between the two and make news comprehensive for all viewers and readers. As mentioned before, I feel like CNN does a good job at balancing the two, whereas Fox News seems to be more determined to be sensational. Their content, while sometimes very good, is blown out of proportion sometimes and that in many cases makes their ratings very good.
The swine flu scare was, in my opinion, the most hyped up story of the decade. Some say the hype was in order to get ratings:
http://www.why100.info/article/20110306210658AAtIQZi.html
As discussed in the presentation, if you are a GOOD journalist, you won't succumb to the pressure to overhype a story.
Here's an article about the recent Charlie Sheen scandal: Hyped? You decide.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thecutline/20110301/ts_yblog_thecutline/9216
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