By Brian Bohl
The relationship legitimate media outlets have with the people is very similar to a marriage. Without trust, both partnerships will fail, and, as with any long-term commitment, there are high points, low points and mistakes by each side.
When the public discovered the media acted dishonestly, such as CBS and the forged documents regarding President Bush’s military service, or The New York Times with Jayson Blair’s fraudulent reporting, the whole profession falls under suspicion. But the public is not free from criticism. If this is a tabloid world, it’s because sales patterns and ratings consistently show celebrity-driven soft news pieces are consumed more frequently than politically minded hard news stories.
The news cycle that occurred Oct. 3 was the epitome of the United State’s collective mindset when it comes to news judgment and what the majority of the public finds important. One day after a busy Monday, there was a steady supply of important stories that the editors could choose as the most important one. There was also one event that inexplicably got pushed back near the end of the news section, much like it does every year.
If you are one of the 171 million people who suffer from diabetes, or know someone that is afflicted with AIDS, cancer, heart disease, cystic fibrosis or Parkinson’s among other horrible diseases, then the story of U.S. scientists Andrew Z. Fire and Craig Mello winning the Nobel Prize for Medicine would be major news.
Mello, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and Fire, a Stanford University professor were recognized for their work with RNA interference. This is a process that can silence specific genes, according to an Associated Press report. As a stand alone story, the fact two members from the United States were recognized with the most prestigious scholarly award in the world should warrant prominent placement in the news cycle. In this particular case, the Nobel Prize was awarded for research that could impact nearly every single person. That is the core definition of a newsworthy event.
Take a look at last Tuesday’s Newsday to see a sad indicator of our current national priorities. The article about the two professors was buried in the back by nearly every single U.S. newspaper. But for our local major daily paper, the first mention of Mello and Fire came on A21, which was the last page for national recaps. To underscore how pathetic that development was, take a look through the previous pages and see what was deemed more important. A full 10 pages before the Nobel feature, Long Island’s most circulated paper devoted a full page to George Michael’s arrest for a traffic violation. Scroll down a few inches and a second story was devoted to the incomparable Bobby Brown, who apparently is no longer welcomed in the good state of Massachusetts, which is probably even more good news for Mello.
Now, this space will never knock the immortal “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” but even the sparse fan-club members of WHAM would agree Michael’s driving habits are not as important as the potential evisceration of common human diseases, but name appeal means everything in the media industry.
Nobel Prize recipients are often regulated to the back page every year, but the choice of some newspapers on this particular day was particularly puzzling. Despite having the entire sports section and a special 48-page pullout on the start of the baseball playoffs, Newsday chose to put Mets general manager Omar Minaya on the front cover as well. The Amish school shootings that claimed three lives that Monday was an event that merited only some small space at the top. Good to see our priorities are in order.
The emphasis on entertainment and soft-news features over hard news articles is not entirely the fault of publications. If people protested, either by not buying the paper or voice their concerns through e-mails or letters to the editor, this practice would have been abolished. In a sad reality, more people secretly enjoy the gossip and funny stories. Most of society knows what is more important when tested either informally or in focus groups, yet when acting independently, it’s the personal lives of celebrities, musicians and movie stars that generate the most buzz save for substantial tragedies. This is not because people are incapable of understanding the intricacies of issues. Rather, it is obviously a question of desire.
It takes effort and insightfulness to forgo the mundane tales of small-time celebrity debauchery and demand increased coverage of items significant to society. Both parties, the public and the media, must work together to facilitate a process that ensures there is a proper balance of important news stories and inconsequential fluff pieces. The ability to function as an informed society depends on it.
Brian Bohl is a junior print journalism major. You may e-mail him at [email protected]