Yellow Journalism

We learned about “yellow journalism” in junior high.  Basically, yellow journalism was described as deviating from unbiased reporting of facts and allowing the reader to form their own opinions to editorializing reporting of a story in a sensational and or exaggerated way.  Basic facts took a back seat to sensationalized headlines and controversial interpretation of “facts”.

Today’s media is wrought with practitioners of yellow journalism. It’s come to a point where most people do not trust the media any longer. Readership especially and viewership have declined. And when we do read or watch it is often the outlets that “spin” stories to our liking that we partake in.

Evermore, social media is replacing traditional media outlets as a primary source for news and information. Social media is often looked upon with more trust than traditional media outlets. The presumption that “if it’s on the Internet, it must be true” seems to be a rampant belief among many.

Watchdogs among us are quick to point out just because it’s on the Internet does not mean it’s true.  Wikipedia has been exposed as an unreliable on-line encyclopedia as it can be edited by anyone. And there are people who intentionally spread disinformation and misinformation for kicks or altruistic purposes.

It doesn’t stop there though. Once trusted fact checking Internet sites, such as Snopes,  FactCheck and PoliFact among others, are being exposed as biased and therefore unreliable in actual checking of facts. These sites are also moving towards editorializing “facts” for their users.

It seems traditional media has collectively decided it must stoop to social media level of reporting in order to compete and remain viable.  Pedaling influence is the prescribed business plan having replaced what was once an emphasis on gathering and reporting of facts.

Our education system shares some responsibility in the current state of media affairs as well with standardized testing being a primary culprit. Where once there was an emphasis on teaching HOW to think that emphasis has shifted to teaching WHAT to think. We are turning out sheep instead of free thinkers and our society is reflecting this.

Can we stem the tide and get things turned around?  I’m sure it’s possible, but I do not yet discern a viable path for doing so. Our society has become addicted to sensationalism and information being spun to fit a narrative.  How does one detoxify from this and maintain connectedness to what is going on in the world?