In the last ten years, or so, 24 hour news has become more a case of 24 hour opinion… and it is a global problem.
My media news platform News on News, has been following and reporting on the World’s news networks for over a decade now. When I started my blog, which eventually turned into News on News, I had the ambition of ensuring that the news media reported the facts correctly.
This was during the collapse of Lehman Brothers. What annoyed me the most was that Lehman, the final domino to fall triggering the financial crisis of the late 2000’s, the coverage was woeful.
Why?
It was a Sunday.
CNBC (both US and International versions) were in paid/sponsored programming, CNN (again, both US and International) similar.
The ONLY broadcast outlets that were broadcasting the beginning of the worst collapse in finance since the great depression were Bloomberg TV, and the BBC.
I’ll caveat Bloomberg’s coverage however, they were breaking into taped programming as new developments emerged, but it was better than nothing.
It’s shocking to think that globally, the only 24 hour news channel that was taking the collapse of Lehman Brother’s seriously was the UK’s BBC.
Well, since then, it has got even worse.
Not only are the mainstream 24 hour news channels now more focused on biased political opinion rather than news, the chances of finding out what is actually happening in the world is essentially non-existent.
Ted Turner did not set up CNN in 1980, with the view that political bias would drive the news agenda.
I remember, as recent at the 2000’s, where a breaking news story somewhere in the world, be it the Christmas Tsunami, Egyptair Flight 990, or the impeachment of the then President Bill Clinton, the news was first and foremost – opinion came a far distant second place.
So, I think a change is required. News channels should go back to reporting the news, or bugger off into the documentaries section of carriers’ electronic programme guides.
In order to hold the news broadcasters, 24 hours or otherwise to account, I plan to document their actions, coverage, bias, or failure using the Twitter hashtag #whereisthenews
Join me in documenting the lack on news from the news.
This article was originally written for News on News, and is available here.
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