Entertainment compromises journalism
More about glamor than passion for the craft of reporting
Michael Stone
Issue date: 3/17/08 Section: Opinions
What is journalism? Is it writing about what Britney Spears does with a new love interest? Is it appearing on a "talking heads" show like "Crossfire" to argue with someone who has taken a polar-opposite stance on an issue?
The vast majority of journalists would say that these activities, and others similar to them, aren't true acts of journalism. They are, rather, attracting more readers and viewers by merging journalism with entertainment.
This ethical issue of convergence of journalism and entertainment is what James Fallows is making light of in his book "Breaking the News." The book also discusses politics and journalism going hand-in-hand, thus turning politics into entertainment to a degree.
Before the days of television, radio and the Internet, print journalism was how Americans found out about the world around them. That world could be as close as a local man accused of robbery, or it could be as distant as a war between Spain and France.
People relied on print journalism to help keep the world in perspective. But as technologies like radio and television began to emerge, print journalism became more and more archaic.
People began listening to a news report on the radio or watching the evening news on the television. Unfortunately for journalism, emerging technologies did more harm than good.
These same technologies that added new facets of journalism also gained America's attention with flashy celebrities and the glamorous lifestyles they led.
Celebrities were, and still are, the figureheads of the entertainment that America fell in love with. Slowly, the country became apathetic towards to the "real" world around them, and became more concerned with the "fake" world that entertainment put into the American psyche.
Journalism had to do something to get America's attention back. Informative and newsworthy stories didn't catch the average American's eye anymore. So journalism began to implement entertainment into the industry.
The vast majority of journalists would say that these activities, and others similar to them, aren't true acts of journalism. They are, rather, attracting more readers and viewers by merging journalism with entertainment.
This ethical issue of convergence of journalism and entertainment is what James Fallows is making light of in his book "Breaking the News." The book also discusses politics and journalism going hand-in-hand, thus turning politics into entertainment to a degree.
Before the days of television, radio and the Internet, print journalism was how Americans found out about the world around them. That world could be as close as a local man accused of robbery, or it could be as distant as a war between Spain and France.
People relied on print journalism to help keep the world in perspective. But as technologies like radio and television began to emerge, print journalism became more and more archaic.
People began listening to a news report on the radio or watching the evening news on the television. Unfortunately for journalism, emerging technologies did more harm than good.
These same technologies that added new facets of journalism also gained America's attention with flashy celebrities and the glamorous lifestyles they led.
Celebrities were, and still are, the figureheads of the entertainment that America fell in love with. Slowly, the country became apathetic towards to the "real" world around them, and became more concerned with the "fake" world that entertainment put into the American psyche.
Journalism had to do something to get America's attention back. Informative and newsworthy stories didn't catch the average American's eye anymore. So journalism began to implement entertainment into the industry.
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