Yellow Journalism

Back when cursive was the advanced method of handwriting, I wanted to be a journalist. I wanted to follow my grandfather into the printing business at the “Daily Plainsman” (a.k.a. The Huronite). He was a Linotype operator, I wanted to be a writer. I loved the smell of the ink and the roar of the printing press. The war, my scattered sense of self, and life in general derailed that plan and I went off to do something I’d never imagined. However, I remain very interested in the art, science, and practice of journalism and I’ve concluded, that for the most part, pure journalism is in a sad state of affairs. I’d like to say that IMHO, “The Plainsman” is a notable exception, the journalism on that paper remains superb.

I’m not sure my opinion is objective and it probably isn’t but nonetheless... Wikipedia tells me: “Yellow journalism and yellow press are American terms for journalism and associated newspapers that present little or no legitimate, well-researched news while instead using eye-catching headlines for increased sales. Techniques may include exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, or sensationalism.” This certainly isn’t a new concept, in fact, it’s been around for 130+ years. Rich and powerful people, Hurst and Pulitzer, for example, bought newspapers, and used the papers to influence public opinion by selectively printing stories about the Spanish American War, crime, etc.

Sensationalism sells. Sells newspapers, sells TV time, radio hours, and now social media. We seem to have settled into becoming “single channel” folks. The people who watch Fox or CNN or MSNBC or NPR or PBS are going to continue using those channels, mostly exclusively. No matter what. They are comfortable, they don’t want news that doesn’t agree with what they think. We all know that, that is not a revelation. That’s life.

Fox just settled for a ton of money because they maliciously lied about certain things so that they could increase viewership. Now that’s news. But Fox viewers won’t see that and may never know about the lawsuit. And they probably don’t care.

Media channels are owned and controlled by billionaires…they control the channels from which we receive our information about the world around us…economics, politics, war, famine, disease, everything. Rich people used to buy sports teams, now they buy news channels. Musk bought Twitter, Bezos bought the “Washington Post,” the Murdoch family has “Fox News,” “The Times” of London, “The Wall Street Journal,” and “The New York Post.” And on and on and on.

I don’t have an answer. I admire NPR and PBS. I check Reuters. I use CNN as a “shopping list” of issues. I look at Fox to see how and who they want to inflame today. Except for NPR and PBS, when I select a newsfeed, I feel like I have dropped into the middle of a Jerry Springer show. It’s nuts. No news. All conclusions! Based on the flawed logic train of whatever channel I happen to be watching. And the rich get richer. But that’s just my opinion and I’ve been wrong at least twice before.

The image is sunrise at The Superstition Mountains northeast of Phoenix, AZ.