A Critique of the Mass Media

Sunday for me is typically a day of joy. It's the Lord's day. It's a day that's usually characterized by  friends, family, church and rest. And while all of these characteristics were present today, they were also rudely interrupted by a simple conversation I had with my grandma and sister. It was over the state of the media in this country. 

I don't want to talk about what everyone else already knows. The mass media in this country has a corrupt reputation. It elicits millions of rolled eyes worldwide. Although I'm a proponent of print journalism, I must admit I've torn apart a newspaper or two in my day. Bottom line: the media in this country isn't in a good place. 

As a college student studying journalism, I'm constantly confronted with critics. They ask passive aggressive, leading questions regarding "the problem of the media" and "the death of newspapers." And I'm starting to notice the source of the criticism. 

You see, media in the United States are at a turning point. Broadcast journalism is more like narrowcast journalism. Print journalism has begun to lose its true image, as subjectivity and objectivity seem complementary. The industry failing as such an alarming rate, that if newspapers weren't littered with advertisements, they would cease to exist.  

My favorite local newspaper, the Seattle Times, used to be paired with the now-defunct Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Sundays (R.I.P, P.I.). Now, the Sunday Times uses an every-other-page-advertisement model. For instance, today two-thirds of the front page was news stories, one-third was "teasers," or sneak peaks for the stories inside. The section's last page, however, was plastered with a full-page Macy's ad. Sadly, this "over advertisement" is common to most major national newspapers. 

But let me get back to the conversation I had with my sister and grandma. I don't want to rant too much about the debacle that our media has become. 

Somehow, the three of us sparked up a conversation on the recent death of pop star Michael Jackson (I have no idea how it happened, it really hasn't received that must publicity). Removing the deeply sad story behind Jackson's life and the people he affected in his 50 years on earth, we shifted the focus and applied the event to the state of American media. 

Most Americans get their news from the major news outlets, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and the like. But has anyone else noticed that all of these channels have been dominated by developments in Jackson's death? If it's not a tribute to his life, it's news about his autopsy. If not the autopsy, it's Larry King interviewing a celebrity asking, "how long did you know Michael?" and, "share your greatest memory of Michael." 

I'm sorry, but isn't CNN supposed to be an international news outlet? Shouldn't it be reporting on developments on the election in Iran? What about the recent election in Thailand? And what about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? Even here in the U.S., what about healthcare reform? Even as I flip through the channels now, there's an old interview with Michael on MSNBC. Now there's a commercial for OK! a celebrity gossip tabloid.

In our conversation, my grandma, sister and I came to the conclusion that the media report on what is most important in American society. That means this society places "The King of Pop" above "The War in Iraq" on its list of priorities. If that doesn't make you sad, it should.