Larry D. Lauer

This question came up in a recent conversation with colleagues about current news stories, and led to a more general discussion: Why do news organizations all seem to cover the same thing… and often do so to the exclusion of other important stories?

This is often referred to as”herding.” Simply put, anticipated audience interest dictates what news outlets cover. This almost always leads to everyone herding to the same place or story. The day’s news agenda can be determined by many things… an outrageous presidential tweet, a legislator’s dramatic pronouncement, a mass shooting, a violent demonstration in some other part of the world, or most any other earthshaking event.

For example, most news outlets followed the first wave of refugees across Europe, with each reporter seeking a dramatic story advantage. When boats capsized in Greece, most outlets sent reporters looking for an interest-grabbing edge. When a mass shooting happened all organizations sent reporters. And when bad weather wreaked havoc reporters and even celebrity anchors came from everywhere to stand in the rising water and compete for dramatic action photos. When any or all of this is going on, other important stories are likely being deferred.

It must be noted that social media has given Presidential tweets a new and often troubling kind of headline-setting edge. Puerto Rico, Hillary, Obama, or NFL tweets have been making headlines. Trump can push everything else aside and make it all about himself. From the media’s perspective, producers and reporters must grapple with his enormous ego while having little time for other stories. But any incentive to change weakens when ratings strengthen.

For those of you missing all those other important stories, worldwide coverage can still be found in many major newspapers and news magazines. But for the general public, media herding will likely continue to determine what we get. So in order to make any sense out of all this clutter we will have to learn how to control and manage our personal media consumption.

With all this in mind, I find myself urging once again that we establish media literacy education in all segments of our communities… in schools, civic associations, churches, nonprofits, and even in media organizations themselves.