Why there is no news channel that only airs good news.

[PatriciaK]

I don't think we can blame the media for giving us what we want. As a people, we don't WANT good news; we want drama and fear. We don't WANT complicated nuance; we want simple. We don't WANT developing stories that take time; we want short stories we can forget when the next drama comes along. We don't WANT to think; we want to "feel". As long as the majority of us are satisfied with the status quo, nothing is going to change, so, nothing is going to change...

 

[Alaskan]

I don't think we can blame the media for giving us what we want. As a people, we don't WANT good news; we want drama and fear. We don't WANT complicated nuance; we want simple. We don't WANT developing stories that take time; we want short stories we can forget when the next drama comes along. We don't WANT to think; we want to "feel". As long as the majority of us are satisfied with the status quo, nothing is going to change, so, nothing is going to change...

Absolutely spot on. To quote Pogo, "We have seen the enemy and it is us."

 

[Westlafadeaway]

I think all the rubber necking at highway collisions pretty much exemplifies why: we love a good tragedy. Be it the lions in the roman coliseum to a high speed chase. We like to watch.

A writer for Downton Abbey said on a documentary: I get a ton of letters begging the writers to be nice to [some character] this season as she has been through a lot, but if I did that, you wouldn't watch the show.

 

[AHicks]

They even sensationalize the weather. If there is even the slightest chance of any kind of storm, it will be featured for days prior to it's arrival. Then it poops out, and not a word about it, just on to the next remote chance of inclimate weather.

 

[Ebiker01]

we love a good tragedy.

not exactly true, once ppl r in the loop of watching - news , they beg for more b/c I unknowingly they become filled with fear and automatically as a psychological action they seek further - - news . just like sugar....
Try to go on a + news diet and see how you feel. But do pay attention to the weather ️⛈️️️

 

[Gordon71]

They even sensationalize the weather. If there is even the slightest chance of any kind of storm, it will be featured for days prior to it's arrival. Then it poops out, and not a word about it, just on to the next remote chance of inclimate weather.

I for one very much appreciate the jobs done by weather forecasters. I'd rather they be wrong,which they rarely are these days,then be caught in a bad storm that I didn't know was coming. For instance today in my area it's supposed to be nice but with the possibility of thunderstorms later this afternoon. So I got up a little earlier to start charging my battery so I can do my ride a little earlier. That storm may not happen but if it does I'd rather not be riding my bike in it miles from home.

 

[Art Deco]

It would seem that there´s more money to be made with bad news. People aren´t concerned about good news;
they need something to worry about. The Media is more than glad to oblige, & sponsors just hop on board as we
are subjected to endless distress. This is a self-perpetuating dilemna that often leads to a ´kill everyone syndrome´
so prevalent at 6 p.m.

Can't prove it, but I think you may have it backwards with the media and the advertisers.
Way back when I took some journalism courses, Madison Ave. firms were already telling the media that they wouldn't pay for ads following 'feel good' human interest stories because they didn't make people want to buy anything. The tail ( commercials) wag the dog (stories).

 

[6zfshdb]

Can't prove it, but I think you may have it backwards with the media and the advertisers.
Way back when I took some journalism courses, Madison Ave. firms were already telling the media that they wouldn't pay for ads following 'feel good' human interest stories because they didn't make people want to buy anything. The tail ( commercials) wag the dog (stories).

20 years ago, I would agree but I think that philosophy has changed somewhat. Subaru has had great success with these ads. Not "human" interest but definitely in the humerous & feel good category:

 

[Art Deco]

20 years ago, I would agree but I think that philosophy has changed somewhat. Subaru has had great success with these ads. Not "human" interest but definitely in the humerous & feel good category:

Very possibly true. I haven't had a TV in decades, and there wasn't anything except TV and magazines ( remember those? ) when I studied journalism. But human nature doesn't change quickly, and the ad men were pretty smart back then.

 

[Gordon71]

20 years ago, I would agree but I think that philosophy has changed somewhat. Subaru has had great success with these ads. Not "human" interest but definitely in the humerous & feel good category:

I wonder if some of that is an attempt to get viewers to stop and look as they fast forward through the ads? I very much enjoy watching TV but hate ads so I record everything including the evening news which saves me a lot of time. I've not seen a TV commercial in years which is especially nice during an election year.

 

[AHicks]

I for one very much appreciate the jobs done by weather forecasters. I'd rather they be wrong,which they rarely are these days,then be caught in a bad storm that I didn't know was coming. For instance today in my area it's supposed to be nice but with the possibility of thunderstorms later this afternoon. So I got up a little earlier to start charging my battery so I can do my ride a little earlier. That storm may not happen but if it does I'd rather not be riding my bike in it miles from home.

Safe bet not all stations do what I'm talking about. If the station has a reputation for being accurate, and some do I know, that's an entirely different matter. I'm referring to the ones that blow up the potential for a storm or weather with just a "slight chance" of being true.

As a private pilot, I KNOW reasonably accurate weather is available out to about 72 hours. This is why I believe some stations/forecasters are sensationalizing the slightest chance of about anything.....

 

[Gordon71]

Safe bet not all stations do what I'm talking about. If the station has a reputation for being accurate, and some do I know, that's an entirely different matter. I'm referring to the ones that blow up the potential for a storm or weather with just a "slight chance" of being true.

As a private pilot, I KNOW reasonably accurate weather is available out to about 72 hours. This is why I believe some stations/forecasters are sensationalizing the slightest chance of about anything.....

Right. I'm sure that may be true. I don't watch the weather on TV as it covers too broad an area. I check the internet weather specific to my area by zip code and act accordingly.

 

[john peck]

Here´s some great news: I just saw an Item picturing a huge building offering
thousands of jobs, ´No experience needed¨. Cool I thought; no one living
has more experience with ´no experience needed´ jobs than I do!

 

[Gordon71]

Here´s some great news: I just saw an Item picturing a huge building offering
thousands of jobs, ´No experience needed¨. Cool I thought; no one living
has more experience with ´no experience needed´ jobs than I do!

Congress?

 

[john peck]

Congress?

Truly!

 

[Gordon71]

Truly!

It was just a guess. If your original post had included "no intelligence needed" I would say Congress for sure.

 

[Alvin1957]

Ah...but my life´s goal is simplification whenever possible.

Hello there. I read something in some pop-psychology stuff (who know if true) that evolution-gone-wrong is at work here. Good news and no-threat information did not keep our ancestors from getting eaten by a leopard or stomped by a cape buffalo. Paying attention to the bad stuff is like listening to the traffic report someone mentioned...useful. So, it seems that evolution has favored the progeny of those that did pay attention to threats. Those that didn't pay attention were stomped, eaten, drowned, etc. Looks like the attribute just kept being reinforced over the generations. Now were stuck with it and don't seem to have the sense to turn off the news when it's obvious that it's really just making us angry or depressed. We're hard wired that way and have to fight the urge to watch all the time...and the marketing guys just feed us what we watch. Might be something here.

 

[Marcela]

Ego thought system likes to judge and criticize. It does not know joy and happiness.

 

[john peck]

Hello there. I read something in some pop-psychology stuff (who know if true) that evolution-gone-wrong is at work here. Good news and no-threat information did not keep our ancestors from getting eaten by a leopard or stomped by a cape buffalo. Paying attention to the bad stuff is like listening to the traffic report someone mentioned...useful. So, it seems that evolution has favored the progeny of those that did pay attention to threats. Those that didn't pay attention were stomped, eaten, drowned, etc. Looks like the attribute just kept being reinforced over the generations. Now were stuck with it and don't seem to have the sense to turn off the news when it's obvious that it's really just making us angry or depressed. We're hard wired that way and have to fight the urge to watch all the time...and the marketing guys just feed us what we watch. Might be something here.

Perhaps it would have been better for earth as a whole if we had gone the way of the dodo. The good news,
we probably will.

 

[Ebiker01]

A filter program that does this automatically for newspapers subscriptions(front page or all pages online) for a few key words ...

Copyright©Ebiker01 ,



A manual Example for a wsj article ; and not surprising...the word "deat.s" is only mentioned 27X vs "deat." @20X .

Prob. a lot of writers are paid to instill fear..... it used to be payed by the word count now is by fear factor.

Imagine reading those every day over many months...u become a walking zombie...

U.S. Population Growth, an Economic Driver, Grinds to a Halt

Because the birthrate already was moving down, the push from the pandemic could result in what amounts to a scar on population growth, possibly deeper than those left by historic periods of economic turmoil such as the Great Depression.

www.wsj.com