Ever since the 9/11 attack that destroyed the Twin Towers in New York City, the news media has, was, and still is trying to recover from it. People aren’t afraid of the news anymore. They hunt for it and want it 24/7, but it comes at a cost especially if they wish to hear the foreign news. No more being safe and nobody listening to the news anchor because now it’s not safe and everyone can hear him speak. It’s time to be careful with your words but how do you deliver the words, so it’s not the same on every other news outlet.
In the trade journal “Has Everything Changed?” we hear the thoughts of the newspaper, T.V., Radio and even marketers that were struggling after and even before the 9/11 attack. CEO’s of CNN news, UPN, Newsweek, and more give their insights into these following questions, “The events of Sept. 11 and their aftermath appear to have affected the beliefs, attitudes, and mood of the American public. Have you seen such changes in your business? And how do you plan to address them through your business or product?”
Mass media outlets want to deliver foreign news with an emphasis on why it’s relevant to America but what makes it fascinating and compelling to the viewer or reader. Nowadays you can’t look anywhere on the news without seeing something foreign because all of the external is rushing into Americana. An American’s want to be the first ones to know when something or anything happens. It’s with this reason that newsroom’s wish to build up more team communication instead of each individual competing to write the best story they can write without a word or critique by anyone.
With that, there must be a close-knit relationship to build up the creditable of work and if the content that there producing is accurate. By the mass media doing this, they build a community that puts their ideologies to the side and their political disagreements aside to give the people what they need even if they don’t realize it. People are meant to move on, and it’s in their blood to do so. It’s not like news needs to worry if they might disappear one day. The attacks and destruction feed the news outlets. It’s the way people get news that will change and how the mass media handles public communication that will convey their truth in any matter of story whether that be hard or soft.
It’s an important concept when trying to distinguish facts from inferences and judgments when speaking to the public about issues that are affecting everyone. Moving one’s self from the story makes the reader come up with their own opinion because their job isn’t to tell the reader what to think but give the reader the tools to come up with their conclusion of what’s happing in the real world. Newsrooms work on that as a team on how to show and deliver their content in a way that’s easy to read and gives their style on it making them unique from other press.
With everyone wanting 24/7 news, anchors and reporters don’t have any time to write up the whole report right then and there before they talk about it live. Now, it’s more of an adlib from the reporters on their experience on the field. The anchors are the reporters, and the reporters are the anchors, it’s no longer that grin with a polished forehead of the early 1990’s and below. Real people are talking to real people. They’re trying to avoid somewhat of a message overload when addressing the public, and it can be hard.
By getting rid of fluff that causes message overload, working as a small team to give the people what they want, and addressing the public honestly and factually with their unique style they can make a significant change. That is what they’re fighting for after all, being real, but things change over time. The news changes over time and people change over time. After a mass attack, after a death, after a bombing people move on and the news goes with them. It’s their job to show and let you tell about it.
References:
Has everything changed?. (2001). MediaWeek, 11(47), 16.
Dylan Lepore 