For the purpose of this paper “sensationalism” can be defined as, “Subject matter, language, or style producing or designed to produce startling or thrilling impressions or to excite and please vulgar taste” (Dictionary.com). …show more content…
When people are sad, happy, angry and in this case, afraid. When people are afraid they are less likely to think and instead, react. This is known as fight or flight. Less than ethical news companies utilize this in their broadcasting to prey upon our baser instincts. They show news in a specific means that will only highlight negative aspects of a situation without covering all perspectives or details of a story to lead to a well-informed conclusion, then put the stories on repeat. An example of this, is when a news station omits a portion of a quote from a political figure to mislead the viewers that he supports a specific stance on a topic to portray him in a negative manner. Other topics that may be sensationalized are disasters, protests, and international conflict. In Daredia Komal and Zehra Nosheen’s article titled Psychological Consequences of Watching Television News Channels, “People are more attracted to negative news than positive news. According to statistics revealed by news channels sensational news sell than any other news segment” (Komal, Nosheen). This method has been proven, because our fears play into their hands to desire information. With all these forms of communication, an illusion has been created that the world is becoming smaller with every passing day. Citizens are able to communicate with people on the other side of the planet and have a greater understanding of cultures outside …show more content…
For example, expressing support for a sports team or showing pride for a small home town and including others to share the enjoyment, But with enthusiasm, there’s always a time and a place. Sensationalism in the news is unacceptable and has adverse consequences where it perpetuates a false sense of urgency. Sensationalism can be viewed in the same way as a child learning what being burned means and experience it firsthand. A Parent can’t prevent the child from learning it the hard way. According to Jan Whitt, “Sensational reporting sometimes titillates and sometimes offends the reader-sometimes it does both.” (Jan Whitt) The way news media presents itself as if it was a Saturday morning cartoon, where there is an evil force that is coming to destroy everything. Then are represented by specific groups or individual people, which can be misleading in specific cases. As a result, the line that separates professional journalism and unethical misuse of information keeps on getting pushed back and redefined. This has been demanded for ages way before my time and will likely be demanded long after I die. It is the job of the viewer to adhere to their own personal responsibility and to investigate beyond a station that has a catch phrase of, “Your all in one news station.” We owe the truth that