Does the media sell negativity?

“The news” (as a whole) is widely perceived to feast on negativity and "sell" tragedy. It's a big part of the reason so many people don’t regularly read or watch the news. But is this perception a reality? If not; why does it seem so patently true? I have a few reasons.

1. Negative stories are generally most newsworthy

There are a few criteria used to determine a story's newsworthiness: timing, significance, proximity, prominence and human interest. Mostly due to significance and prominence, negative stories generally best fit the criteria. That doesn't mean positive stories aren't sought after, reported and published. Countless positive or "neutral" news stories are reported and published every day. In fact, many news operations make deliberate efforts to highlight them. Most of the time, they just aren’t newsworthy enough for the front page of the newspaper or lead story of the nightly newscast.

2. Negative stories captivate and have the greatest impact

Most people hear what they want to hear and see what they want to see (Don't like it? Change the channel/turn the page/ignore it). When it comes to news, people want news that is relevant...meaningful...impactful to their lives. Most positive news stories just don't have as great of an impact on an audience.

For example, if you’re watching or reading the news and see these three stories:

a) Area synagogue receives $2 million donation for major renovation
b) Local non-profit donates $10,000 to combat Muscular Dystrophy
c) Drunk driver kills father and son in early morning accident

Which story are you going to remember? Which story will you gossip with your friends about? Which story would you click on and/or share with your friends on the internet? Most often, it's the tragic one. The positive ones are forgotten. The media doesn’t sell tragedy as much as the public feeds on it.

So why do we do that? Why do we feed on negative stories even when we say we want positive stories? Part of it has to do with wanting to be relevant and wanting to discuss the most "newsworthy" issues ourselves; but there might be a largely under acknowledged reason as well.

3. Good news can feel like bad news/Bad news can feel like good news

When you hear or read a positive story, how does it make you feel? Think about that…and let’s go back to the above examples. Unless you are Jewish or have a family member suffering with Muscular Dystrophy, you probably don’t care much about the kind-hearted donations. Moreover, it can even make people feel bitter or resentful. When you hear the news you’ll probably think “That’s nice. There are still good people in the world.” But after you might think “I wish I was as fortunate.”

Bad news has the opposite effect. When you first hear of the father and son, you immediately sympathize. Your heart goes out to the unfortunate victims. How do you feel after the story digests? You probably feel grateful to be alive and appreciative of your relatively positive situation in life – no matter how good or bad your situation really is. The stressors that ate at you before are temporarily relieved; the negative story (however tragic) gave you a fresh, new perspective on life.

There may be much more to this discussion that I haven’t considered. This is just my current response to the blame the media receives for spreading negativity. The truth is, positive stories are rarely significant enough to impact a mass audience - but they are everywhere. If you really want to see or hear them, just look for them. If you're like most people, you’ll see what you want to see and hear what you want to hear.

As always, feel free to leave your comments publicly or anonymously below.