Years ago, people like Neil Postman professed it would happen. In the transition from sharing information to entertainment the news has not only lost focus, but is a disservice to the people. When market shares and ratings dictate news coverage, controversy equals entertainment. Videos & the rant after the jump.

At the time of typing this, President Obama is in the news because he dares to speak to school children. Leaving the story at, “Obama to speak to school children” is informative, but not entertaining. Time to find some controversy. Was it a big deal that George W. Bush spent a day with school children on September 11th? It wasn’t a big deal before the attack, nobody complained. Obama was elected by a majority of the people and had an insane amount of support before the election. Yet to watch the news, all we know of the man is that he is a socialist who wants to indoctrinate our children. How did a man so adored become an evil crackpot? Controversy sells.

I was not an Obama supporter and I understand the concept of ‘the grass is always greener,’ now that he’s in office we want something different.  So, there is a slim chance that the media is fairly representing the opinion of the people, or at least some of them. However, I question the information they are spoon feeding the nation. Consider the story of the serviceman who refused to go to war because he believes Obama was born in Kenya and therefore is not Commander in Chief. The story seems fitting for a local paper covering the court news of that particular town, but not national media. The national media has covered the Origin country of Obama’s birth and seems satisfied. Yet, the this wacky job’s story of refusing to serve gets national attention.

That’s where things get fuzzy for me. I don’t want information kept from me, so I am not suggesting that story be suppressed. I’m merely suggesting that information has taken a back seat to entertainment. Moreover, fact checking appears to be an afterthought to entertainment. Recently 2 papers in India published stories based on an Article from The Onion stating Neil Armstrong admitted the moon landings were fake. No doubt they were trying to scoop the competition by posting the controversial story first. So, are these entertainment outlets going so far as to be shouting “Fire!” when there isn’t one?

I fully believe in the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press. However, I really get an awful feeling when all the news organizations do is fish for controversy and possibly feed it. I don’t believe there is some weird conspiracy or agenda motivating the media beyond the all mighty dollar, but you can surely argue media has an effect on people. Early American journalism is often credited with fueling the revolution, so perhaps I should not be accusing the news media of shouting “Fire!” Instead, I should be asking, “What happen to ethics in journalism?”  We once worried that the corporate interests controlling the newspapers and TV shows may stop us from getting the real story, like the 60 Minutes-Jeffrey Wigand episode in the 1990s. Now, we need to acknowledge that the six o’clock news, the 24 hour news networks and network news programs are pandering for ratings, information be damned. Like South Park using swear words, NYPD Blue showing a naked man’s ass, or wardrobe malfunctions at the Super Bowl the news is nothing more than a television show trying to grab viewers and make money. Thus, the teaser right before commercial:

Perhaps, the news media in the United States should stop trying to make us fear socialism and instead, practice it. Instead of the capitalistic idea of pleasing the sponsors and getting ratings, they should perform the act of journalism for the country’s people.