gwp said:
The media does not create fear and controversy.
...
In my opinion: Not true, at all!
For, at least, the past 25 years
creating controversy has been a major preoccupation of the media, especially, TV journalism and
"public affairs" programming.
To be fair, the media in the English speaking world, all media, including totally
public systems, is in the
business of selling its audience to sponsors - which might be a government. No media has any other reason to exist. The role of
journalists is to fill up the boring, 'white spaces' and 'dead air' between the advertisements or commercials. And controversy sells. It has always been his way. 'Pioneer' media (17th/18th century) were all born and bred selling very firm 'poins of view' - essentially creating controversy. Whig pamphlets leading to, indeed
provoking the
Glorious Revolution provide the best example.
The market for 'hard news,' as opposed to opinion, opened very late in the 18th century when journals like
The Times were first published. But they were also highly
opinionated and they worked to
create controversy in order to sell papers by having a 'serial' story.
Controversy is
exciting, it is,
perforce, 'news.' When it exists the media need do nothing more than report upon it but when there is no controversy of general public interest then it must be created - even fabricated - or, at least, stirred up a bit. Controversy can also be 'entertaining' and, about 25 years ago,
journalists like John McLaughlin saw the
infotainment market and began the process of
creating 'on screen' controversy by turning boring print
columnists with very limited readership into TV "shouting heads" in a half hour of engineered controversy masquerading as 'public affairs' broadcasting.
Many media outlets, electronic and print, use a 'false front' of
fair and balanced reporting to manufacture controversy where none really exists. Thus, a wholly factual report on some situation is, time and time again,
balanced by a 'comment' by someone who has a
opinion opposed to whatever is being
reported upon. Fact is
balanced with opinion and,
Presto! we have a controversy - entirely manufactured.
Created controversy is the rule, not the exception,
in my opinion.
