Re: "Negative news," editorial, Rocky View Weekly, July 12, 2022
Dear editor,
In a recent edition of the Rocky View Weekly's "Survey Says" on page six, you posed a question asking readers' preference for either positive or negative news. Unfortunately you were seeking a yes or no answer, while the real answer is slightly more complex.
First of all, I believe we mostly consider the news to be, fundamentally, the conveyance of bad or negative events. From the perspective of many, myself included, the answer to this question is less important than our ability to rely on news outlets for factual information.
Recently I was told by an insider "The problem with the world is that people no longer trust media sources and the information they provide." I would suggest the question that better addresses the root cause of a loss of trust is, "Why does the media no longer hold the necessary integrity required to foster trust?"
Media as an industry needs to seek the answer through reflection and ask tough questions internally, such as, "When did we begin to consider the facts less important than the popularity of the story? When did we forget our responsibility to the public and simply seek the sensational?"
In my industry people get hurt when they choose to disregard the truth. We call it, being bitten by the Trump bug. "Facts don't matter, we will just decide which reality best suits our agenda."
Where there is no integrity/quality in a product, you can always expect a serious reduction in total product value. At this point, we simply have tabloids, one more sensational than the other. We hope in future, industry will migrate back home to a place where the consumer can begin to build trust again.
Ralph Farrell
Beiseker
