Mainstream Media Battle For Our Attention

One Comment by Nicolas Sampson on 21st Dec 2011

Many of us are disappointed by the mass media and the poor standards to which they have fallen. Everything seems to flow out of the same cauldron, a soup of re-used, recyclable garble whose purpose is none other than to grab attention at whatever cost.

We are also disappointed by the lack of originality and depth that normally underpins an open society’s press. There seems to be too much streamlining going on, too much group-think and wishful thinking. Fox News and CNN, for example, may have nothing in common, representing opposing sides of society, but their reporting premises are almost identical. There seems to be a mechanism in place, a paradigm, if you will, which, in the name of efficiency and fast-delivery, has displaced quality and insight. All that matters is the impression something makes and the sensation it causes. BBC, CBS, NBC, ITV, TF1, France 2, France 3, France 24, ARD, ZDF, TVE, Al-Jazeera – they are all reporting the same things in pretty much the same way.

Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. Source: Identity Photogr@phy, flickr.com

Furthermore, there is a lot of disinformation taking place. Certain developments are blacked out in favor of others, creating arbitrary social representations and favoring certain agendas. We have all heard the news reports on the Iraq War that were forbidden from including images of American casualties and coffins, or the ones which spoke of the situation supposedly getting better on the ground when, in fact, the raw reality was much more bleak, for both troops and civilians alike. We have all heard one report too many on what Paris Hilton wears and drinks, and on who Lindsay Lohan badmouthed in public to know that there is too much emphasis placed on the trivia and very little on the meaningful and substantial.

To counter the disinformation, the disorientation, and the onslaught of dumb material, there is a great deal of counter-disinformation taking place, most of it equally reprehensible. With impressions mattering more than content, cutting-edge journalism is being increasingly replaced with cutting-edge sensationalism. So you get reports from the likes of Russia Today, news stations specializing in sensational breaks and other headline-grabbing, supposedly ‘serious’ alternatives, which funnily enough tend to focus on the conspiracy part of the equation.

So what now? How do we separate the truth from the garbage?

Firstly, we identify the garbage. When we know what it looks and sounds like, we can dispense with it more easily. Warning: the following clip contains some strong language.

Secondly, we identify the substantial stuff. There are reports and programs out there that contain an element of unscripted, genuine expression that touches on issues in ways that make sense – or that shake the waters enough to start off an all-around, meaningful bout of reportage.