Negative Effect of TV News Crime and Violence.

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Negative Effect of TV News Crime and Violence

Television news, due primarily to its obsession with crime and violence, definitely has a negative impact upon our society. TV news is basically an oxymoron; giving us the skin of the truth stuffed with a lie. A news program should be focused on the facts, with perhaps some objective analysis. However, for business purposes, TV news broadcasts use dramatic, usually violent stories and images to capture and maintain an audience, under the pretense of keeping it informed. What we see and hear on the news affects us both consciously and subconsciously, and sends us about our lives unnecessarily fearing the remote dangers that we see excessively portrayed on the evening news. This fact is especially true for our children, who are defenseless against this onslaught of malevolence being brought into our very living rooms in the guise of informative reporting.

Why is it that bad news is the only news? Is that all the public finds interest in? Take the story of Jessica Dubroff. Jessica was to become the youngest person to fly across the continent. At the start of her voyage, there was only a smattering of news reports granting her a few seconds of recognition. However, after her plane crashed, and she, her father and trainer were killed, Jessica was front-page news. JonBenet Ramsey is another example; a beautiful little girl with so much going for her, yet not deemed worthy of any media attention until her tragic murder made her a household name. To see the latest horror / thriller, there's no need to go to your local theater; it's on television at 10 PM. Yet the news isn't completely at fault; the people (like myself) who complain that these stories are plethoric are the very people who tune in to watch them every evening, fueling the fire.

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The long-standing news producer motto, "if it bleeds, it leads," is alive and well, and the network broadcasts are no better than the locals are. The world news shows are virtually indistinguishable from local news, both leading with blood and guts. Clearly, advertising revenue and the constant pressure to keep the viewers tuned to the station are the driving forces behind the "dumbing down" of TV news. News producers must figure that if they can scare the wits out of people, the people will be more inclined to watch the disproportionate prominence of gore and violence on daily TV ...

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