Written by Dallas Hyland
News media is in trouble.
Not because newsworthy events of interest to the public’s well-being are not abundant. And not because sources to report on them are not abundant.
But rather because the money once used to pay for professional journalism is now being used to fund web marketing engines disguised as news sources.
Disagree? Try right now to count how many advertorials you have processed in the last week thinking they were news stories.
Conglomerate media sources now see more benefit in news entertainment, than in maintaining the fourth estate.
I know, I know, it’s gratuitous to belabor the obvious about reporting when I am in fact a reporter right? But it is in response to the perpetual bickering of the reading, listening, and watching public to whom I am responding here.
Although seemingly unwilling to research matters for themselves, they are self-professed experts on how the media is steering the conversation—and consequently them—into what to think and believe. I call bullshit.
The way I see it, the problem is on both sides of the spectrum and can be narrowed down by identifying three types on each side: those who lead, those who follow, and those who are simply in the way.
On the reporting side, the leaders are those who have shunned the mantra of fair and balanced reporting. That is a marketing ploy genius in its invention that has dominated the lexicon of news reporting. It is, however, unrealistic. The fourth estate reporting sources are not compelled to give sides of the story, leaving it for an apathetic, placated, and uninformed public to choose like they would an American Idol contestant. They are, however, compelled by getting after the truth and encouraging an engaged citizenry to do the same.
The followers in news reporting are the consensual news sources. Not wanting to offend anyone—especially advertisers—they pay lip service to being fourth estate sources, but their colors are clear. They just want to be liked and get along.
However benign the latter may be, strong arguments can be made for the beneficial nature of both the leaders and followers. They serve a purpose.
The ones in the way in news reporting are a particular problem, however, because they are confusing the market by posing as a news source when in fact they are nothing shy of a web marketing engine aimed at generating traffic to their site at any and all costs. Any news source that writes an ad for a business in the form of a news report and gets paid for it, well, let’s just let that simmer for a bit.
Back to the bickering for a second, however, if you are one of those who is shooting any of the messengers, perhaps you need to consider you are just a lazy SOB and need to put down the device and pick up a book.
On the receiving end of the spectrum, the leaders are those who themselves are also after the truth. And they are not content with being simply told by anyone. They verify it for themselves. They are well-versed and well-read. They are, in other words, informed and engaged citizens who, if they did any real diligence in the matter, might render the necessity for a fourth estate at all, obsolete.
The followers in this realm are the consumers of the consensual blah. Their favorite song is the theme from the Lego movie where “everything is awesome!” They question little and by default, give those who do plenty to work with. They cannot fathom the notion that what is being reported is not a narrative being generated by an unseen entity.
On a side note, do not mistake me here. I am often known to say that if you show me a reporter without an agenda, I will show you a liar. It is not the agenda that should worry you as much as the process first of all, but more importantly, that you even understand what an agenda in news reporting is.
Last is the news recipient who is simply in the way. This is the consumer who believes in earnest that as long as two sides of a given topic get adequately mentioned, they have been told what is happening and need do no more than pick the side which aligns best with their predispositions, political or otherwise. Remember those guys who are confusing the market? Congratulations, you are validating them, and you are as huge a part of the problem for the future of news reporting as they are.
Alas, we can be a part of the solution or part of the problem. But make no mistake, we all are one of these. It’s a choice.
See you out there.
Dallas Hyland is a freelance writer, award-winning photographer, and documentary filmmaker with three films currently under his belt. The opinion editor of The Independent, Hyland’s investigative journalism and opinion columns have ranged in topics from local political and environmental issues, to drug trafficking in Utah, as well as the international front, covering issues such as human trafficking in Colombia. On his rare off-days, he can be found with his family and friends exploring the pristine outdoors. Listen to him live as a regular guest co-host on the Perspectives talk show on Fox News 1450 AM 93.1 FM in southern Utah.
