The Second-Most-Hated-On Profession in the US

     It doesn't take much effort to find people dissing the media these days.

     They complain that news isn't trustworthy; and sometimes it isn't, because need-for-speed can cause false or exaggerated stories to go live without verification. I will grant that this criticism is valid, with qualifiers. But that isn't what bothers me enough to write a blog post.

     They complain that traditional media is being phased out by blogs, news aggregators, and streamers, all of whom reduce our reliance on traditional, so-called "ossified media platforms". Although the average American blog is less reliable than 'mainstream media' by an order of magnitude, and most newspapers have an online edition these days, this criticism has some teeth too - people are going to secondhand sites for their news more and more. But that isn't what bothers me enough to post about either.

     Finally, they complain that reporters are "unfeeling", "uncaring", and even "inhuman". And this is the point where I do a double-take and ask them what the heck do they think they are talking about.

     The infamous slogan "If it bleeds, it leads" gets a lot of airtime in popular opinion these days. Another phrasing would be "If there's a tragedy involving massive injuries or loss of life, it makes the front page". And, by implication, it makes the journalist's career. This creates a meme-like image in people's heads of reporters as cold, calculating bloodsuckers, and for supporting evidence they need look no farther than the TV reporters covering any disaster live-from-the-scene, who tell their stories in a businesslike way, portraying little or no emotion on-screen.

     A masterful argument, but in my opinion it's utterly false. For one thing, there is no way for any demographic group to be 100% emotionless. Basic rules-of-thumb of human nature are enough to refute the bleed-lead argument, but let's take it a step further and explain the phenomenon that has people thinking that reporters are soulless. Consider my phrasing above: "portraying little or no emotion". It's exactly that - portraying. Reporters cannot be weeping into their microphones; it impedes the flow of information, which is their job in the first place. Instead, they control their reactions long enough to cover the story, and as soon as they're off the air they can collapse and sob.

     I can think of no better illustration of the determination that characterizes journalists, and the flipside of the emotion coin, than the events of Saturday in the city of Ya'an, China. (Some of you have probably heard this story already.) A local journalist was in the middle of preparing for her wedding when a massive earthquake hit; she put everything on hold and ran off to cover the breaking news.

Chen Ying, in Ya'an, reporting on the earthquake in a wedding dress.

     It's not lack of emotion, it's dedication to the job. Or at least that's my take on it. Feel free to comment if you see another side to this.