Bright lights and a play of red and blue that resembles the old Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus advertisements for the “Greatest Show on Earth.”
This describes the subway advertisements that were up not so long ago for “Geraldo at Large.” It is a news program with an experienced and talented cast who are selling themselves to the public with fancy colors and silver lettering.
While this advertising campaign has allowed them to gain the attention of a majority of the public, they have lost the respect of the people who know that in news media, it is not about the reporter. It is about how the story is presented, and how it affects the public. News media is being treated like show business.
On numerous ocassions, celebrity news has taken prominence over more pressing political fare. This is entertainment, which is often dangerously confused with news. America’s twisted entertainment culture is what has caused this change in the way news is presented.
The news staff is not the main attraction, although some may beg to differ. The actual news should be the most prominent asset to any news program. Most of the American public is more interested in celebrity gossip than hard news. Seeing top stories in weeks past demonstrated that cats stuck in between walls in Manhattan, is more news worthy
There is no excuse for the broadcast media to stoop so low.
The American public needs to learn that not everything has to be in bold, silver lettering. It is disappointing to see that there is a scarcity of hard news and a lack of investigative stories. Bias, not balance, has become the rule of thumb.
Upon first seeing the advertisements, an aspiring female journalist would be awestruck. Her body is the main attraction and the news microphone in her hand as a mere prop. The advertisements for the new Warner Brothers’ television show, “Pepper Denis” are a perfect example of the direction that real broadcast media is taking. The sad part is that the public is so accustomed to this type of media advertising that some people did not know what to make of it. Some even thought that it might have been an actual news show. That is a serious problem.
It hurts to make this comparison, but how far off is broadcast media from “Pepper Denis” caliber of selling yourself and not the story? Will the American public allow its media to stoop so low?
