Media reports can be confusing
As long as there is money in selling “news,” we are going to be subjected to the “Trump effect” of the recent political campaign. To me the “Trump effect” is the constant reporting of almost any news event as it relates to Donald Trump. Whether they are discussing international politics, the stock market or his cabinet appointments, it seems everything is being reported as it affects “the Donald” and his position as president-elect. It is difficult to remember if this has been a problem in the past or if it is a result of expansion of the news outlets. When one watches a television news program on a network, it is not uncommon to see reporters from a related program appearing to tie the subject to another event. It is hard to know who owns which network, which programs are tied together within the network and which newspapers belong to which network, if any. Do we have too many networks or is it simply that the pressure to be number one in viewers, or readership, causes the news to focus on him because it always brings up controversy ?
For better in some ways, much worse in other ways, things in news related areas are changing so rapidly that only the specialist in a given area knows the truth. It is hard to use a simple term like “electronically” to explain what is going on in the cyber-world, but the opportunities to use high speed internet in the world of news seem endless. The television commercials that advertisers use to promote their products are so sophisticated a viewer cannot tell what the product’s limitations really are. Have you seen some of the ads for automobiles warning you not to try the crazy demonstration they just used to get you to buy one? Showing cars street racing in a city on streets with no cars may look good to young, easily impressed youngsters, but it doesn’t happen that way in real life. And, I still doubt the commercial that is trying to sell a plug-in device for a car to a mother with the expectation that she can control the daughter’s driving. Even to the extent that it keeps the daughter from kissing her boyfriend.
If sophisticated computer programs can produce commercials like these, is it any wonder that so- cial media can be used to spread false news through Twitter, Facebook and all the other avenues available to those wanting to lead a vulnerable section of society down the path to social corruption?
We are now being told by news media services and apparently guided by certain Democratic Party sources, that the Russian cyber spy network exposed emails from Democratic Party officials to help Donald Trump get elected. It may or may not be true, but since you can find a news source to take either side, the real truth is your choice. The winner in the end is the television network continuing to hit us with Trump news so they can entice us to watch their programs and provide advertiser revenue while giving us nothing worth watching unless we like product advertising. Like it or not we are stuck watching whatever the network offers because all the options are the same. And, it seems the cable news channels are running five or six minutes of commercials for every three or four minute segments of news. Either these ads are run at a reduced rate or the networks should be reaping a harvest of revenue dollars.
It is unfortunate that we risk becoming an entertainment-first society. The network covering the Army-Navy football game this past Saturday focused as well on the presence of President-elect Trump in one of the enclosed box areas with a group of dignitaries. The line between activities is becoming blurred when we have too much of our political world using other means of promoting an idea or concept — or an individual. And, the line between advertising and the real world is no different.
My concern, as a parent and grandparent is only that their generations will be so caught up in the confusion of a changing world that they will not see the negative effects along with the good possibilities. I fear we will gradually be lulled to sleep by the rapid pace of change and people will lose their identity and their ability to think independently for themselves. It is quite possible that the independent thinking part of society will become a vanishing class.
••• Editor’s note: Leo Lynch, an award-winning columnist, is a native of Benton County has deep roots in northwest Arkansas. He is a retired industrial engineer and former Justice of the Peace. He can be contacted at prtnews@nwadg.com.