The news is wrong

Or are we the problem?

“In the paper today, tales of war and of waste, but you turn right over to the TV page” - Don’t Dream it’s Over: Crowded House

I’m starting to wonder if we’re the problem.

Last night the lead story on the commercial TV news here in Melbourne was about Tony Jones (sports reporter) having to apologise for comments towards Novak Djokovic.

The second story was the release of hostages in the Middle East.

Huh?

I’m not the first person to complain about this kind of thing but it’s getting worse.

Commercial media organisations have to make decisions that they believe will first attract and then engage an audience. On the nightly TV news, the job of the network is to get you to the first ad break so whoever has paid for the broadcast gets their lick.

But shouldn’t there be some kind of responsibility to present the news in order of importance?

I’ve thought that for a while but now I’m wondering if we’re part of the problem.

Here’s why.