The Script of Violence in Our News

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Do you watch the news regularly? A simple question that if asked just twenty years ago would result in an overall consensus of “Yes I watch the news regularly”. Interestingly enough fewer people are tuning into newscasts, if at all. Why is this? The primary reason people list for not wanting to watch the news is that it is depressing or their undying devotion to one media outlet bars them from even attempting to tune into another news station (but we won’t delve any deeper into that subject at this time). The media has certainly taken a darker turn as of late, but the same can be said for people, and their interests. Facets of media have only one goal and that is to reach their target market, plain and simple, they culminate this by broadcasting the high profile and violent cases more often than not. The masses have caused this shift in broadcasting coverage, all the way from the executives in their sky-rise offices, to the everyday persons’ perched in front of the television set.
People are violent, simply because we love extraneous violence. Think about how often we endanger ourselves looking at a car crash while driving, the allure of the crash is so enticing that we would even go as far as to jeopardize our wellbeing to catch a glimpse. When not pertaining to our individual safety we become more selfish. Few Americans are afraid of the unmanned drone attacks that are deleterious to the innocent children in war torn countries, however when an act of violence happens in a locale that is unexpected to ourselves it becomes a morbid reality. We see this in the very recent death of Paul Walker, minutes after the tragic news surfaced people were posting sarcastic comments about his need for speed and the irony present with him peris...

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...range anywhere from the stealing of an urn of a stillborn, to 10 Haitians’ dying after their boat had flipped. Plastered on the front page are the high profile news stories we so crave and yet we are upset over the lack of lighthearted news stories. To find a heartwarming story I had to scroll to the bottom of the webpage, where the link read “Marine saves stadium jumper”. Even the lighthearted stories carry a depressing undertone and unfortunately this trend will most likely continue to spiral upwards.
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable” (John F. Kennedy) while Kennedy aimed this quote at a different issue it still applies to the media today. Until we the people are outspoken in our insatiable thirst for news stories that are not always negative, but that are educational and stimulating, nothing will change.

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