We'd rather be entertained.

I've been a member of the news media most of my life. As a writer for newspapers. And I'm sort of ashamed of it. Not necessarily what it used to be. But rather what it's become. An entertainment industry. Full of inaccuracies. And bombast. For the sake of ratings. The idea is to sell a product. Something disguised as news. I was taught that journalists were supposed to be objective. To not choose up sides. To report the facts. And opinions. In fair and objective ways. But that's all changed. Now it's all right to be biased. To choose up sides. To disseminate lies. Yes, to allow politicians or anyone to speak untruths. Without calling the inaccuracies to public attention. Tune in a news program, and one has choices. One can pick one's own biases. Liberal slants. Conservative slants. Rarely do I stumble across an unbiased and objective and truthful approach to the news. Maybe that's because people no longer want fairness. They want what they want. Biased, subjective reporting. Anything that fortifies their their own distorted thinking. Maybe that's why in the political realm there's no room for compromise any more. No room for give and take. No room for objectivity. Objectivity doesn't sell. Yes, that's what we've become. A society that the news media polls. To decide what the dumb-downed public wants. And that's what we get. A dumbed-down, biased version of reality. We'd rather be entertained than truly, objectively informed. --Jim Broede