Media malaise

I am increasingly wary of watching the news at the moment. Likewise, of picking up a newspaper. There seems to be a growing trend towards forcible desensitisation – towards pushing graphic images and descriptions on the viewer with an utter disregard for any concept that there might be some responsibility to take care over what you publish. Everything is geared towards complete ‘honesty’ with the onus being on the viewer – ‘if you don’t like it, don’t watch’. But what good is that when you already have the face of a burning prisoner seared into your retinas?

I can honestly say that when it comes to reports of prisoners being burned alive, there is no image you can show me that will make me any more horrified about the situation than I already am.

This rush to show the most gruesome, the most shocking image seems to come from something entirely divorced from the concept of using the free press to show the unvarnished truth – instead it is fuelled by ghoulishness from viewers, and laziness on the part of broadcasters for whom it’s easier to get exclusives if they don’t have to put too much care into what they’re publishing. There’s also the fear that someone else will corner the ‘morbid git’ market and be the first to publish those graphic images, and will thus outsell you (so you default to publishing the worst thing you can get your paws on).

I would much prefer to have an eloquent newsreader genuinely moved by what they were describing give an honest account of what had been submitted to the newsdesk than have the idle plumsacks in charge just whack out a load of horrifying images with an attitude of ‘SO THERE’.