Not Just News Anymore

The news used to be reserved for hard-hitting journalism with in-depth reports and investigations. It also only appeared in morning newspapers and on morning and nightly news broadcasts. Then in 1980, CNN came along and changed all that; They would broadcast the news 24 hours a day. In theory it sounds like a good idea, but with a little bit of thought, one wonders: is there really news occurring at all hours of the morning, afternoon, and night? To be honest, no. But these 24/7 news networks need something to fill all those vacant hours. What could they do? They could keep running the same important news repeatedly. That, of course, would be boring, meaning people wouldn't watch, and they would lose(and this is key here) money. So, instead of filling in the hours with relevant information, the networks were forced to put pretty much anything on the air. Meaningful report and investigative journalism began to fade into extinction. Soft news stories, celebrity gossip, and pundits spewing their biased opinions all found their way on to the networks. And to distract the public, fancy graphics and useless technology were also implemented. The race for ratings forced each network to sell their own soul in order to receive better ratings and become more entertaining than informative. And that's what it boils down to. The more time a network is on the air, the more money it makes. But then again, the only way to pull the public out of their apathetic slumber is to engage them somehow. People today, with their short attention spans and indifference, need something they will keep them entertained constantly. And that is a true shame in society.