In May, 2005, I was among the more than 2,500 media reformers from across the country who attended the National Conference for Media Reform in St. Louis. The conference was sponsored by Freepress [1]. The presenters included Amy Goodman, Phil Donahue, Bill Moyers, Robert W. McChesney and George Lakoff. It was an extraordinary event.
Much of the information presented at the conference was disturbing. The thing has haunted me the most since the conference was that most people get most of their news from local television newscasts. Consequently, what passes for “news” on local television newscasts is still an extremely important source of information upon which voters rely. [2]
Most Americans’ main source of information is not national network news but local television news. According to the Pew Research Center, 57% of Americans regularly watch local television news, outpacing all other media sources by a margin of almost 2 to 1.
Combine this heavy reliance on local newscasts with the definition for “news” that was widely accepted by those attending the conference: “news” is information that one can use to become a better participating citizen.
Since attending the National Media Reform Conference, I have often thought of the many reasons I don’t respect local television news. In short, it largely consists of simple stories with shock value or entertainment. More specifically, our local “news” specialize in providing us with the following types of information:
- The personal lives of entertainers;
- TV show promos;
- National news presented as short sounds bites of people dissing each other rather than discussing anything of substance;
- National news presented uncritically by local stations acting as official stenographers for those in power.
- Sex crimes sex crimes sex crimes;
- Repeated displays of aviation crash scenes;
- Repeated reassurance that “we” are winning the “war on drugs,” based on yet another drug bust;
- The many dangers lurking in city neighborhoods, especially shootings, robberies and car accidents, where dysfunctional people of color are repeatedly put on the screen in such a way as to reinforce problematic stereotypes in the minds of suburban viewers;
- Lots of formula pieces: lots of live reporters on highway overpasses, and stock footage of large piles of salt, to mark the season’s first snow storm;
- Perhaps a ten-second clip (per newscast) reaffirming that dysfunctional and tragic things occur in foreign countries;
- Comprehensive sports footage and commentary, typically ten times more of this than national news;
- Several lengthy weather teasers and then weather ad nauseum; [3]
- And, of course, coverage of a something like a hotdog eating contest or a short report on a snake with two heads, followed by the banter that ends the highly ritualistic “newscast.”
Based on recent investigation, [4] we now know that local news has also been doing a marvelous job feeding us fake news–corporate-sponsored “video news releases” — segments promoting commercial brands and products. See attached article.
It’s surreal that sooooo many people I know, people who also despise the local news, continue to watch it as their major source of political and cultural information. One big problem is that almost none of the “news” presented by local television newscasts is information that one can use to become a better participating citizen. The main problem is that local newcasts are almost completely lacking in usable information. They work well as rituals (we know most of the outcome before we even watch), which is why so many people tune in. In my view, people watch local newscasts for reasons other the need to be informed.
The other big problem is the bait and switch. If local television shows were called “the nightly pretend news where it leads if it bleeds, featuring no real news analysis, no investigative news, nothing offensive to any viewer or advertiser and where entertainment rocks,” I’d be less bothered. Calling it “news,” however, leads many people to believe that watching a corporate-serving concoction of made-up and heavily-filtered stories prepares them to weigh in on serious issues of the day and further prepares them to march into the voting booth with confidence. In 2004, that confidence took the following form: “Yes, I’m prepared to vote. After all, I’ve been watching the nightly newscast with Brin and Jennifer and I know that we had to invade Iraq because of the 9/11 attacks.”
I plan to attend the next National Conference for Media Reform [5]. It will be held on January 12-14, 2007 in Memphis, Tennessee. I highly recommend this conference to anyone else concerned about media reform. For those wanting to know more about media reform, click on the “Media” links on the right column of Dangerous Intersection homepage.
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