The Media as a Business, not a News Service

The topic that I am thinking about using for this assignment deals with how the media is, in fact, a business and not a service. Consequently it is extremely important for the viewer to be aware. I find the twists that the media puts on catastrophic events to be terrible for society. Rather than spreading the news of the event they turn it into an ongoing story. The twisted result becomes more like a show than a news report. It highlights the disaster in a way that brings more negativity. Often, the person who was responsible gets so much attention they are surely viewed as a martyr. A perfect example is the Virginia Tech tragedy. Seung Hui Cho, the boy responsible for the event, received far too much attention for his actions. The goal of the news became to find out about his life rather than focus on the victims. I am sure these actions have caused other people who may be depressed and angry to see him as a martyr, not a murderer. Another negative effect was the racial backlash that resulted from the incident. Both of these problems could have been avoided if the news channels had just presented the story, focusing on the event, rather than dragging it on into a tale to boost television ratings.