The Blurring of Reality

The Times article reported that the three most-followed new stories of early August were the Sioux City air crash (followed by 53% of respondents), the murder of Lt. Col. Higgins (followed by 49%), and the federal savings and loan bailout (followed by 29%). This implies that these were the stories that most interested viewers. But there is a question of cause and effect here, as is the case with most polls. Are Americans really concerned more about the Sioux City air crash, which killed 100 people, than the S&L; bailout, which affects 200 million people, or did viewers follow their air crash more closely because it received greater media exposure?

It’s no wonder that Americans confuse TV entertainment with news. Modern “news” programs consist mostly of joke-telling anchors, sportscasters, and weathermen telling us mostly about sports and weather with a few plane crashes and train wrecks thrown in. Important stories that affect our future--the S&L; bailout, campaign reform, and the environment, to name a few--receive scant attention. These stories require viewers to think; weather, sports, and train wrecks do not. Unfortunately, the print media are just as guilty, often running insignificant stories on the front page and burying important ones in the back.

What has happened? Are the media catering to a public that that grown so lazy and apathetic that it no longer wants to think? Or are the media guilty of manipulating news coverage according to their own agenda? Unfortunately, both explanations are equally ominous for our democratic values.

BRUCE L. KLEINE

Woodland Hills