The topic that caught my eye this week was sensationalism
and the news. The news covers a lot of stories that are currently happening,
but not all news will interest us. According to the Boss textbook, “most people
prefer heartwarming, true-crime, or disaster stories over critical analysis of
national and international issues” (pg 344). This is true for me too. When I am
surfing the web for news, I skip pass anything that sounds like politics or
anything that does not relate to me. If a story about a tragedy pops up, I
immediately click the link and proceed to read it. As people, we have empathy,
and newscaster and journalists play on that. When we see others in distress, we
feel for them and want to reach out and help. That is why Newspaper cover
stories and headlines are usually related to topics that will grab at our heartstrings.
This strategy is good for the news because it will grab people’s attention and
make them want to know more about the situation.
I agree with you that we only read news when it catches your eye. I feel like I do that all the time especially online when I go on yahoo there is many articles to read. I usually read about the interesting things such as violence or just celebrity news. Those things usually catch my eyes and when it does I tend to click on it and read more about it. I agree that newspapers put what attracts readers by putting it on the headlines. They usually bold it making sue they can read the major headline. Sensationalism is definitely a big factor to our media today and people only take notice of things that attract them.
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