The News as pornography

Why do 50 % of Australians expect to have experienced a mental illness by the time they are 21?

I suggest a major reason is the  'News' - the negativity  of which is  polluting the public space and threatening to overwhelm us.

Any typical news news bulletin in a developed country is a poisonous cocktail of violence, tragedy  and conflict.

First there is war and/or terrorism at home and abroad. If there is no live action event - news is manufactured by covering anniversaries and funerals of victims related to recent  wars and terrorist events. This is not actually news at all.

Then there are national and international catastrophes both natural and man-made from floods, bushfires and earthquakes to aircraft, train and automobile crashes.

This is followed by randomly selected  criminal acts and civil conflicts both at home and  overseas: the more gruesome the footage the more chance it has of being  broadcast. Footage is  especially selected showing foreigners or ethnic minorities who can then be demonized so the viewer can feel comfortable and superior at home safe in his armchair..

We are voyeurs for all of the above as none of it ever happens in the local communities in which the viewer lives. It is a vicarious experience: the collated angst of a random selection of people who have  no obvious relationship either to teach other or to the viewer. This litany of misery creates real dissatisfaction and angst in the viewer. It is a form of pornography

Then, before we pass out (or switch off) in curious juxtaposition, we are 'entertained'  by sport!  If there is none, that doesn't matter, we are treated to gossip about sports or movie celebrities or-failing that- about the media celebrities themselves.

Finally, we are 'finished off' with the weather which is either alarmist-floods and bushfires-or if it is not, by inane attempts to make it more exciting by cosy and fatuous dialogue between the anchor and the weatherman/woman

Just in case this does not frighten, excite or entertain  you enough, all of this is made even more entertaining by the endless cackling and chortling of anchors, reporters and commentators  jockeying for position to grab our attention: each trying to make themselves the news media celebrity who can entertain us best.

In an veritable orgy of backslapping heartiness and false bonhomie they vye with each other on the news breakfast programs to produce the best one-liner alternating  between brown-nosing  each other and putting  each other down.

Ha! Ha!

Rising to a deafening  crescendo they laugh and scoff at each others jokes - desperately searching for the one-liner or put-down which will bring us all to orgasm..

and finally..

relief...

What appalling bogus role models for our young people!!

What pornography!

No wonder 50 % of us are officially dysfunctional. I am surprised the figure isn't much higher.

If parents showed sexual or violent pornography to their children they would  be deemed irresponsible and have their children removed by social services

It is time our leaders in politics and the media were held accountable for churning out such news pornography daily
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We need a new model for the dissemination of news to which we can apply negativity quotas which can be monitored independently by a 'Jury' of citizens outside the 'News Industry'

Perhaps we can develop a 'Negativity index' to rate broadcasters. Offenders should be fined heavily. We need to do something to break this corrupt business model of news dissemination.

News dissemination should not be entertainment. It should be quarantined from other broadcasting services such as investigative reporting, drama, cultural activities, sport etc all of which can be ratings driven to a certain extent as they are, arguably, entertainment.


Nor should politics be entertainment.

Politics is war-that is definitely not entertainment either.

News is not entertainment. It is information - and every bit as serious and deadly as war.


We all - but especially young people- need  information, veracity, positivity and optimism from parents and from the  leaders in our community.

We are not getting any of this from the current model of news broadcast..