Opinion: Media turns good news bad; Americans eat it up

At least, that’s what I’ve been led to believe. And I think the news media believes it’s true.

The assumption seems to be that we like our bad news, and we aren’t interested in a lot of the good news. To news media, a headline such as “Teenagers behave themselves” is less compelling than “Unexplained temporary lull in violent teen crime.”

It appears that the media will dig deep to search out bad news angles to harpoon most good news stories. An example was the early coverage by cable TV news of the recent earthquake in Hawaii. Because I’m a regular visitor to Maui, I had more than a passing interest in the event. It took an e-mail from a friend to learn there was no damage to speak of on Maui. The most obvious thing about the news coverage was how little the reporters knew about what was going on. While I watched, they continued to prove how little they knew. To keep viewers’ interest high, what little that was known was painted in catastrophic hues.

When a glimmer of good news appeared, the bad news was inserted. Case in point: When Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle reported no quake-related deaths or serious injuries, the reporter’s response was that because so many Hawaiians live in remote mountain areas (which is true) the likelihood of serious casualties couldn’t be ruled out. In the end, the governor knew what she was talking about: There were no quake-related deaths or serious injuries.

In doing some channel surfing, I happened upon a few interviews with people on the scene whose knowledge was limited to confirming that a bad thing had happened.

Finally, a reporter was able to interview a Hawaiian government official. The reporter asked about possible tsunamis, a reasonable query. The official quickly asserted that as of that moment, no sign of a tsunami had been detected anywhere in the islands.

Apparently, that wasn’t the desired answer. When the official was off the line, the reporter looked sternly at the camera and said: “There we have it; the threat of a tsunami striking somewhere in Hawaii cannot be ruled out.” The reporter must have thought viewers would stop watching if any good news got through.

He was partly right – I stopped watching. I stopped watching because there was no real news.

On another news front: A Harvard School of Public Health report in the Journal of the American Medical Association stated that a diet of three ounces of salmon or six ounces of mackerel and the like can cut the risk of heart disease by 36 percent. In conjunction with this, the Institute of Medicine urged Americans to eat more fish because it is heart-healthy and helps develop the brains and eyes of babies and children. Good news, right?

What was the bad news strategy? An interesting approach, indeed: An inordinate supply of ink and air time was given to purported risks from mercury contamination in fish. The tone of the news report was: Yes, fish may be good for your health, but it might kill you. Now, that’s bad news.

One news source reaching way out for the bad-news hook suggested that eating fish might not be the source of good health because people who eat a lot of fish probably eat less red meat and saturated fats, and they probably lead a more healthy lifestyle.

Another bad news angle to good news was the fear that increased demand for seafood might cause worldwide shortages. That would be like claiming lower gas prices will just put more cars on the roads, causing more pollution and traffic jams.

How far would the bad-news peddlers go? If by some chance Americans’ wages were to suddenly increase, would the media report the good news with a bad caveat from an “expert source” about the likelihood of people spending more money on unhealthy junk food? How about this bad spin on higher take-home pay: “Fears expressed that wage earners would buy more stuff made in China.” Of course, this could result in something bad: higher trade deficits with China.

Americans just love the bad news, don’t we?

Joe McAdoo is former chairman of the communication department at Drury University.[[In-content Ad]]