張心怡
When I turn on the TV, watching the news, what I see most is bad news-
suicides, car accidents, fires,
disasters…etc., and this makes me feel quite
upset. Of course, I feel sorry for
the victims, but the way the media report the news makes me feel more
depressed…
As
technology advances,
the mass media become increasing popular
and grow fast. People can
learn what has happened
in our society very easily. Compared with
the past, the media nowadays offer people news in a more realistic way,
for example, with photos, SNG news… All
the information we learn is from the media, and what the media have to
do is to show people the news in an
objective way. However,
the fierce competition has made the media eager to
get the audience』s attention. Thus,
they try to 「process」 the news. The way they present the news, the
graphic shots, the background music … are the materials that they use to
make the news more 「vivid」. Thus they
manipulate human emotions to increase their
ratings.
On
May 25,2002, The China Airlines passenger jet with 225 people on board
crashed into the Taiwan Strait. Every news channel reported the news
instantly and presented very 「good」 shots. You could see the victims』
bodies without being covered or any kind of mosaic treatment.
Newspapers featured the sad, helpless faces of the relatives on the
first page and in full color. Some reporters even got into a quarrel
with the relatives because the reporters kept ignoring that the
relatives did not want to appear on camera at all. Moreover, every
piece of air-crash-related news is accompanied by sad music to further
affect the mood of the audience. Of course these details aim to draw the
public』s attention and curiosity. People feel sorry about the news, but
the dramatic treatment might make them sadder.
It is the media』s job to show people what happens in the world, but they
should keep it in mind that what they report should be the 「true
history」. A good media report the news in an objective way, giving
people the facts instead of making people more depressed!