Where are the Priorities?

Carter Eckl
ce271812@ohio.edu

Click-bait, everyone's favorite source of 'news' without actually supplying any news.

Sure, the process and brain power it took to create such advertisements are fascinating but is it really helping anyone?

Now, some of the ads and pages may not be directly created as 'click-bait' they are essentially headlines and pictures driven to get 'clicks' without present new or useful news to people.

ESPN 

One common name that I've seen throughout other blogs is probably the most obvious of the bunch, in the sports world. To put it bluntly, SportsCenter/ESPN headlines characters that they can use to stir up debate and rile on people emotions. The news side of their entire production, whether that be television or webpage, has simply been pushed onto the back burner and has lost a significant amount of priority.

Here is a perfect example of that mentality used by SportsCenter:



I would not waste your time watching the entirety of this video but it is 10 minutes of an interview with a famous rapper who has been partying with victorious teams. That's it.

Meanwhile, there is a little orange box in the top left hand corner that says developing news that actually contains injury information which has more news value than the interview they are conducting.

The Power of Recognition

I would love to continue to blame ESPN for their poor example of news but, its getting views. People are spotting things that make them want to click. If these powerful organization can place a video icon of a famous rapper on their screens, they are probably going to get some clicks. If the public sees a face or a team they know, they are going to be much more likely to click on that particular article.

This has clearly been used in both ways as there are some very powerful pictures out there attached to stories but, the recent trend has been to post a picture that will get attention rather than necessarily make it about the content inside the article.

Something's Gotta Give, Right?

One place you find a lot of these images are on blogs that are simply competing for views. The "sponsored content" or "native" advertising that is beginning to sprout all over the place has clearly become an issues since the ASME felt compelled to release new guidelines.

Another one of the common websites you find "sponsored content" is BuzzFeed. Also, previously mentioned in a lot of other blogs, BuzzFeed is the first true 'click-bait' website that comes to my mind whenever this argument arises. I cannot even begin to imagine how many different articles/ads/etc. are posted on that one website just for the sole purpose of advertising.

Such as the entire left side of the home page that has neatly listed 14 different articles that all start with the notion of  "# of Things You....."

I mean what are the odds of the same thing being true, when anyone else visits to their website:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/


In the end, the advertisements and ways these websites are able to reach so many people is kind of incredible. There is definitely good types of advertising that can be created around the ideas behind 'click-bait' but its clearly advertising at the end of the day. Real news is something that needs to be pushed back onto the burner by finding creative ways to not be misleading.