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As a former journalist, I get drawn into arguments about why the media is always so “negative.” Yes, the news is often bad but there is a good reason for this. I wrote this thread to reveal how media works and for easy sharing in future. Feel free to do the same. /2
As a former journalist, I get drawn into arguments about why the media is always so “negative.” Yes, the news is often bad but there is a good reason for this. I wrote this thread to reveal how media works and for easy sharing in future. Feel free to do the same. /2
2/ The majority of news headlines are indeed bad. But reporters and editors don’t use terms like ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ in considering a story. (A reporter’s first thought, on hearing anything interesting, is more likely to be, ‘Is it accurate or inaccurate?’)
3/ So, what makes a story interesting to reporters/editors? No, it’s not sensational, sexy, happy, sad, exciting or scary, though they may use some of these terms to describe a story. However, there is one word that connects all valid media stories - and it isn’t ‘negative’.
4/ As a managing editor I fielded dozens of calls from readers, all asking, ‘Why are you people always so negative?’ Finally, I asked myself the same question. On a slow day, I thumbed through back issues and sure enough, every page in the paper was chock-a-block with bad news.
5/ What did these stories have in common? Why were they all newsworthy? I pondered this over several cups of coffee. Finally, it hit me. The answer could be summarized in a single word, and one that explained everything: conflict.
6/ It was a lesson learned in Grade 3 English. Every story must contain conflict. It breaks down into three categories: man against man, man against nature, and man against himself. (Yeah, the education system was pretty sexist back then.)
7/ I knew conflict was essential in fiction, but it was a revelation to see that it applied equally to news. Check out any newspaper, news site or electronic broadcast. Deconstruct the stories. Most often, it’s man against man – one person or group against another.
8/ The conflict in our news can range from calm debate to hot war. The “Morning Joe” or “Fox and Friends” talk shows. President Trump versus Justin Trudeau. Congregants in Boston versus the priesthood. Israelis versus Palestinians. Truth versus fake news. And so on.
9/ To drill down, all stories have a protagonist and antagonist. In a breaking story, you can often see the actors jockeying for position, trying to portray themselves as the sympathetic character; the good guy, the one you should find innocent, the one you should vote for.
10/ Sometimes it’s man against nature. Lost hiker succumbs to hypothermia. Poachers killed by lions. Hurricane takes 78 lives. Hundreds missing in California wildfires. Thousands lost in tsunami. No matter how you read it, our conflict with the natural world drives many stories.
11/ Rarer, but still compelling, are stories of internal conflict. Athlete recovers from injury to win the trophy. Homeless man overcomes addiction to become a famous artist. Nine-year-old girl with cancer inspires the world with her strength before succumbing to her illness.
12/ Conflict drives our fascination with sports, where battle lines are drawn literally. The same for the winners and losers in business news. Lifestyle stories are often us against ourselves – how to improve our health – and entertainment news can be the most salacious of all.
13/ So how about the ‘positive’ stories that get covered? The same rule applies. There is conflict at work, but the story has a happy ending – the protagonist wins. Someone has risen to the challenge and triumphed over adversity. All ‘good news’ stories have this at their heart.
14/ This is not a partisan thing. We can debate the truth of what they say, but we would never watch Maddow or Hannity without that conflict element. As with the best and worst of our literature, it would be a dull affair without conflict: a good guy and bad, a winner and loser.
15/ If you ask a reporter what they look for in a story, very few will say "conflict". However, all good reporters use this filter without attaching a label to the process. They know, at least on a subconscious level, that a story is not newsworthy without conflict.
16/ So, the next time the news upsets you, don’t think ‘negative’. Think ‘conflict’ and identify the elements for yourself. Understand that conflict is what makes news and that there is no shortage of it in today's world. And if you want to change the world, go for it! /end
