Ok, so at this point I feel most know about the illicit act of horse riding that took place in Caddo Mills this week. I don't mean to be crude, or make light of the situation, but I think something needs to be addressed.
Outrage among the public over the Herald-Banner running the story was tremendous. I understand this is not a topic that polite people talk about it, but it's still news. It goes back to the old adage that all you hear, see and read from the media is negative. Well the fault is with the readers in this regard. Few care about the little boy with courage who overcomes adversity. Sure, people say they do, but those stories don't sell. Carnage, brutality and sex - no matter how weird it is - does.
We are a business like any other. We need to sell issues to keep our advertisers happy, so we can stay in business. Negative news garners attention. I'm not saying there shouldn't be a balance of negative and positive, but don't complain about something you read when it obviously struck a chord and now you're one of many talking about it.
We are in the business of grabbing attention, so please don't crucify the messenger for reporting the dark of the world, especially since we also provide information on the light. No one said a word about any of the other stories on the front page of the horse issue. A man announced his candidacy, which will ultimately have a longer lasting effect than any crime piece on the population as a whole, but no one cared.
That is a perfect example of the news business. We report what we think the readers will find interesting and the readers were overwhelmed with interest by the horse story.
No comments:
Post a Comment