Journalism has become a Smackdown Pay Per View Spectacle

Christopher Riley

3000riley.c@gmail.com
cr451912@ohio.edu

I am part of a generation that was raised not knowing the political affiliation of most of our peers. Our elementary school teachers taught us Social Studies in a way that allowed us to think for ourselves without knowing where the instructor stood on most issues. Times have changed since then as we now live in a world where opinions and voices are heard at a more rapid rate thanks to advances in technology. Try to imagine what the world would have been like in the 80’s or 90’s had social media existed then. Information went from being sought out in books and conversation, to literally being in our pocket. Perhaps this why political opinions are more vocal now than they used to be. In the same way that how we share our voices have changed, so has journalism.

Journalism has come a long way since the days of telling stories in social settings. It seems with every passing year it evolves even faster. In today’s world, Journalism has become overtaken by an us versus them mentality. I remember news being reported as just that, news. Now we have networks and journalists that have their own set of values and ideas that they incorporate into their reports. The media isn’t nearly as trusted as I remember it being while growing up. Stories of distrust in the media go back a long way, It’s nothing new.

The media has a responsibility to keep the government and political figures in check, but it has instead divided the culture. Networks and journalists have their own opinions that they are no afraid to use to drive the news. Everything and everyone have an agenda. CNN wants to make sure we know everything that Donald Trump does wrong even if it means changing the narrative or leaving out important pieces of the story. Fox News wants to make sure we know everything that he does right, even if it means covering up something wrong. This has turned the media into a spectacle much like sports pay per view. To a lot of people, mainstream journalism is a big expensive show.

Image: Fox News vs. CNN – THE TALON (amhsnewspaper.com)

That’s why there is a lack of trust. Journalism is fueled by emotions and opinions instead of facts. Look at this article detailing numerous CNN blunders: https://dailycaller.com/2018/08/31/cnn-list-bungled-reporting-fake-news/. It’s not to say that Fox News doesn’t do the same thing. Check out this article detailing their blunders: https://mashable.com/article/fox-news-mistakes-in-2018. CNN and Fox News will do whatever they can to get the public to follow their opinions even if it means not reporting the news.

The news is not the news. It is massive vacuum of political opinions used to push agendas. Now anybody can be a journalist due to the wide access of media mainly thanks to the internet. Facts or sources are often overlooked to shape the story the way the reporter sees fit. That’s what makes journalism hard to define, or even dangerous to define. Journalists will fact check anything they disagree with so that they can get it labeled as ‘misinformation’ when almost everything reported is misinformation due to it lacking in sources. The news is Donald Trump versus Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi versus Donald Trump, Fox versus CNN, and Democrat versus Republican. It is a big money pay per view boxing match.