What news to be shown

News editors decide what to broadcast on television and what to print in newspapers. What factors do you think influence these decisions? Do we become used to bad news? Would it be better if more good news was reported?

The recent decades have witnessed increasing concerns on what to be broadcast on television or to be printed in newspapers. There are those who contend that positive news should be reported, and negative news should be left out. Conversely, a staggering number of individuals claim that negative news should be the central focus of newspapers. In this sense, whether failing to report negative events is beneficial or detrimental to the public is yet to be ascertained.

First and foremost, editors’ sole wish is to promote their sales; news which can attract readers’ interest would be included in newspaper irrespective of its sources being good or bad. Furthermore, it is widely deemed that newspapers should report on the current affairs. Interestingly enough, one of the remarkable observations coming from research findings is that news reported in newspapers or broadcast on television is mainly subjective. Time and again, editors are putting news which suits audiences’ favour, irrespective of the news that is positive or negative.

From another stance, being reported to the public, news influences thousands of individuals. To exemplify, news concerning the latest technologies which lead to an increased success rate in liver transplantation, gives hope to those patient diagnosed liver cirrhosis. In addition, tragic news about an earthquake arouses viewers to provide help, in terms of volunteers’ work and donations to the victims.

Viewed as a whole, audiences and readers may obtain up-to-date information from newspapers and television; it is fair to assert that their interests determined what to broadcast on television and print on newspapers. On the basis of my observation, positive and negative news should be reported objectively to let the general public understand the reality.