Bad news gets good readership

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Soap Box Race 2008 | Photo 14

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The problem is that some times news stories a hyped to gain readership, I wonder why readers love doom and gloom, especially within a recession that’s recovering.

Human being tend to think the worst there are a very few people that take a center line view, mainly those that love to be swayed in to the doom clouds of pessimism.  It’s got to the point that journalist hunt for the dirty, gloomy and all those nasty things that could be a threat to mankind.

Reality is completely chucked out the window, the norm never sells newspaper or obtain high viewing ratio’s.  The problem when it comes to economy if one oddity that is seen to go against the reality of a recovery. That oddity is hyped and milked for all its worth and some more, plus such oddities of the past are used to give more body to the doom and gloom story.

As always economical recoveries end more quickly than the so called economic whiz kids forecast and then the media is left to search other doom and gloom stories elsewhere. Politicians find the need to use the hype factor to win brownie points against their opposition. Financial wizards and guru’s meanwhile know how to make money on both a rising or falling market. Some even add their penny worth to the media related hype, knowing when markets fall sell, when markets start to recover buy.

Yes bad news gets good readership, but should citizen journalist follow the pattern of the gutter press and write hyped doom and gloom stories when they know the truth. Should it all be about gaining readership and less about the facts and the real truth.  I personal prefer the truth and believe more in the need to supply the truth than obtaining heavier readership.

But if you’re a writer its up to you what you write about you are the one to set the moral standards on what you write. What gains you mean to achieve and setting standards to achieve them is your own responsibility.