Breaking news! Britney Spears is a lunatic. Breaking news! Someone is experiencing something dreadful... somewhere.
Breaking news! There was a house fire in Timbuktu.
How are these examples of breaking news? Well, they aren't. Honestly, this type of "breaking news" should be on page 37D of the newspaper. Unfortunately, these stories make their way to the "top of the hour" broadcasts and page 1A of many of our newspapers.
Living in the era of the Information Age, lacking the ability to find a solid story should be as hard as playing pick-up-sticks with your butt cheeks. Reporters should never feel as if they don't have a story. News-runners should wear through their shoes at least once a week, and should have callouses on their fingertips from scanning the World Wide Web for stories of real substance and relevance.
Still, people get what they asked for. People want to hear about Britney Spears recent escapades into insanity. People want to know about a fire in Timbuktu. So many tune in to hear of the latest "news" about someone going through something miserable... somewhere. Sad as it may be, this nonsense sells.
It is my hope that journalists will begin telling people what they need to hear rather than what they want to hear. They need to box ears, not tickle them. This is the nature of the journalistic beast. Keep telling it like it is, but make sure that "it" is truly newsworthy.
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