[Essay] Breaking News Syndrome-2

[no_toc]On April 19^th, 2013, CNN reported “breaking news” – the police had a suspect in custody for the Boston bombing, and they were on the way to the courthouse with the suspect. One hour later, they reported “breaking news”- there was no suspect in custody, contrary to “earlier reports.” So basically, the breaking news was that there was no news at all. The Boston attack reporting that a suspect had been taken into custody became a story of its own. This rush amongst the leading news channels for the early and exclusive coverage of breaking news usually results in incorrect news details which are presented in a very sketchy way to catch the attention of its viewers. The grave factual errors committed by these leading news channels due to limited availability of information create lot of perplexity. This inability for some individuals to assess the entire story before bringing titbits to the table in the form of fact is frequently called the “breaking news syndrome”. The competition between rival media organisations is one of the most significant reasons behind this “breaking news syndrome.” It is not just the electronic media which is vulnerable to presenting news and views in “a lop-sided and half-baked” manner instead print media too compromises with its high ethical standards, making objectivity a major casualty in the process. The critics often infer that commercialisation is the root cause behind this setback but in reality the reasons are way more complex than what it seems on the face of it.

Objective Truth

In today’s world, news media are the chief purveyor of information and opinion about public affairs. One of the traits of good journalism is the ability to state the facts directly without adding one’s opinion. Objective truth, however, is amongst one of those goals which can never be fully achieved. It remains a worthy endeavor for journalists to commit themselves to trying to tell the truth. Many times journalists just don’t have the patience to seek for the truth behind the story. In order to cover an early report they sometimes overlook the authenticity of that news report and try to twist the truth until it says what they want it to say and agrees with what they believe. This “breaking news syndrome” has kept the journalism ethics at stake. It not only includes those news reports which are presented under some misconception of factual error but it also includes news reports which are heavily opinionated or projected with incorrect perceptions. Many a times the leading news channels use the same picture or video for a very long period of time in order to portray a particular kind of situation which may not even have existed in that place after some point of time. This is all just to create sensationalism. In a number of television commercials, pictures of naked and starving children in Africa and Asia were shown. But the main thing which was overlooked was the fact that it’s been the same picture used for more than a decade.

Authentic sources

Lack of authentic source is yet another major reason behind this “breaking news syndrome”. Everyone, of course, still wants to get it right but in the race to be first judgment about being right can get skewed. The journalist in order to gain immediate limelight for covering an exclusive news report uses sources which are not even worth considering. These days, the reality of a news environment driven by social networking sites, cable television and constantly updating news on the web is that the desire to be first has become all-encompassing. What looks like an authentic source in the moment can turn into a less authentic source in mere fractions of seconds. Though breaking news syndrome is creating hue and cry amongst the intellectuals but the media organisations are least bothered about it. The media organisations give more consideration to a story which creates sensationalism though it has not been verified by an authentic source.

Maintaining Intellect

According to Danton, “After bread, the need of the people is knowledge.  Knowledge is now a monopoly, and comes through to the citizens in thin and selected streams, exactly as bread might come through to a besieged city. Men must wish to know what is happening, whoever has the privilege of telling them. They tend listen to the messenger, even if he is a liar.” The average consumer of any leading news channel either doesn’t care or accepts the game for what it is. They know that there are inevitable mistakes in reporting but they don’t care. All they are bothered about is being informed but whether the information is correct or incorrect is not there arena of concern. It has always been like this. But what is the fault of these unbothered viewers. It is pretty normal that they will sit through the mistakes because they didn’t go to any journalism school or don’t adhere to some notion that you should get the story right before you present it. The media organisations understand this game very well and they purposely serve only that piece of information which is very catchy and immediately turns one’s head. To hell with those who have turned away in search of something more complete and thorough, they are definitely not the target audience of these leading media organisations.

Commercial Success

Over the past generation, commercialisation overtook the high ethical standards and quality of journalism. In order to gain commercial success, the 24-hour news channels try out new-new techniques daily to increase its Target Rating Point (TRP). The ebb and flow of 24-hour news is a pretty simple supply and demand operation. This practice has diluted the importance of breaking news. When there’s nothing on, you get packaged reports and some talking heads. The twist comes into play when there is actual news of urgency. This is the time when “breaking news syndrome” can be evidently seen. In every media house, there is a great hue and cry over exclusive coverage of the event and the cameras roll non-stop. The media organisations attempt to take as much commercial benefits as they can. All they want is the immediate developments of the event even if it is misinformed. They very well know that people want to tune in and see something, actually anything, even if it’s a misinformed reporter spouting conjecture into a live camera. Television news, particularly 24-hour cable coverage, is essentially a master class in how to do journalism poorly. The problem has already been identified but still there is no change, no fixes. Many leading news channels have not even taken into consideration there past records of the syndrome. In fact, they continue to repeat the same mistake again and again. The job of a 24-hour cable news channel is to have people constantly talking about the news, whether the story has moved an inch or not. Hence, there exists no room for self improvisation.

Conclusion

Media organisations needs to reconsider issues like lack of domain knowledge in reporting investigations, trial by media, parallel investigation, lack of legal accuracy, inaccurate verification of facts, differentiating fact from opinion, reliability of sources. Journalism is not a mere profit-driven commercial enterprise tempting journalists to ‘break news’ without cross-checking facts and figures and there exist a very thin line of difference between accurate reporting and the tendency to draw conjectures. Therefore, it becomes important that the journalists must have certain amount of training before they are let loose. Also, in order to reduce the commercialisation in the arena of journalism, investment caps in the news media should be increased so that it attracts long term strategic capital. This will significantly reduce the pressure of media organisations. If sensitive news are published by taking into account their pros and cons, national unity and social reconstruction will only be strengthened. Media organisations should exercise utmost caution in publishing news and events which may adversely impact the society and the country. Everyone is looking for the savior of journalism. Together we will try to do everything to ensure journalism’s future. Thus it becomes important that the media organisations maintain high ethical standards, impartibility and objectivity.(This essay was originally published in Target 2013 Mains Programme of GKToday.)