Journalists and media institutions say that their job (duty)
is to inform the public.
(Most) People tend to trust media
organizations and journalists. This is most true when it comes to believing
that the information presented in the media is worthy of knowing. Some people
simply take for granted that whatever is in the news is important, relevant and
it deserves our limited cognitive resources.
Most media organizations
(companies) and subsequently the (most) journalists have income depending on
the audience reach they have. TV stations, Radios, internet websites and even
newspapers get their income from advertising which in a nutshell means that the
media organization sells “thousands of views” (exposures).
Here is the paradox. Media
organizations need to get as many “views” (audience reach) as they can. This depends
(in part) on which information is transmitted to the audience and on how it is
presented. Thus the incentive of media organizations and journalists is to
present appealing information in an appealing manner so that they get the widest
audience-reach possible…
But appealing is not the same
thing as important, relevant, worthy of knowing…
So people in the audience think
that a piece of information is worthy of knowing (important) because it was
presented in the news (media), but at the same time the media chose that piece
of information because it knows that people will find it appealing and
subsequently will consume it.
Use (commercial) media just for
entertainment … the important stuff is usually not there…
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