Let's talk about Yellow Journalism.
Have you ever heard that term? In the 1800's it was the equivalent to Fake News, and it was a big problem back then. Eventually laws were passed requiring reporters to deliver reports based on the facts of any given event. In the 1960's and 70's it was a requirement of broadcast networks to run news segments, and news was only broadcast a few times a day to fulfill that requirement. Yes, there was once a time when TV stations only broadcast the news because they had to.
In the 1980's and 90's TV broadcasting networks discovered that they could make money on the news, and it became Action News. Networks like CNN were born, and it was quickly realized what brought in viewers was news delivered as entertainment. Shortly after, fairness in news laws were repealed. The 2000's ushered in the rise of agenda-driven, sponsored news. The rich learned quickly they could buy any opinion they wanted, and push public opinion any way they wanted.
2010 up to today, and we have the rise of bots and Fake News once again, it is simply Yellow Journalism by another name. Except now, new and improved, with all the modern tools to polish the slick narrative they choose to push on us and make it all the more believable.
How dangerous is this? Never forget the power of words, truth, and lies. In 1898, the U.S.S. Maine was sunk due to an explosion of munitions in it's coal bunker. Modern investigators all agree this explosion came from the inside of the ship, not from the outside. Yellow Journalists at the time wanted to sell more newspapers, and blamed Spain, spinning the accidental explosion as a Spanish attack on the United States. "Remember the Maine! To Hell with Spain!" was the tagline of the day that helped to launch the Spanish American War. We may never know for sure, but estimates range from 50,000 to 64,000 total casualties as a result of the public at the time buying what the media sold them without verification. All to sell more newspapers.
Bring back the Fairness In News laws and hold reporters accountable for how they use their words. To the viewers, until those laws are in place again, remember that the news is just another thing being sold to you. Are you going to buy it? -Heather Wade
|