Negativity in the News

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Everyone knows that there is way too much negativity in the news these days. It seems like every time the news is on, the anchors are talking about death, crime, poverty, the bad economy, or something unpleasant. The news stations also ‘sensationalize’ nearly every story they report. Every aspect of the news, be it online, on TV, or in print, is oversaturated with unnecessary negativity at the expense of positive or insightful information.
A lot of bad things happen in the world, and it is probably right that people need to know about them, but news stations tend to ‘emotionalize’ their stories. A journalist’s job used to be simply to describe what was happening in the world impartially, but it has now become a job of ‘evaluating’ what is happening in the world, which is only a small step from sensationalizing it (Graham, 1). Not only are there too many negative stories, but the negativity in those stories is also emphasized. Reporters focus on the committers of crimes rather than the victims; they talk about what is wrong with the murderers, the robbers, and the rapists instead of what was right with the people who were injured or lost their lives. News stations now are even competing with entertainment shows for viewers and prime-time TV slots, which they do by emphasizing emotional material instead of just reporting the news. This is obviously not the best focus. News stations’ goals should be to inform viewers about what is going on in the world, not to entertain viewers and play with their emotions. There is just too much negativity in today’s news.
This saturation of negativity also causes a wide range of negative psychological effects, especially on peoples’ moods. One would expect that news regarding war, poverty, and cr...

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...aded with unnecessary negativity, which comes with multiple negative psychological effects. We are drawn towards these negative stories for neurological reasons which may be a result of prehistoric adaptations and natural selection. ‘Sensationalized’ negativity is a real problem in today’s media that is affecting America as a whole in various negative ways.

Works Cited

“Why we love bad news.” PsychologyToday.com. 30 Dec. 2010. 13 Mar. 2014
“Why Negative News Turns Us On.” icfj.org. 2 April 2008. International Center for Journalists. 13 Mar. 2014
Tugend, Alina. “Praise Is Fleeting, but Brickbats We Recall.” The New York Times 23 Mar. 2012: B5
Graham, Davey. “The Psychological Effects of TV News.” Psychology Today 19 Jun. 2012: 1

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