Historical View - Reading A History of News Chapters 7 and 12

          The history of the news seems to hinge upon the whims of humanity’s fickle nature – and short attention span. I think the History of News book sums it up perfectly when referencing what Conor Cruise O’Brien calls “the Scheherazade Syndrome”. This so-called ‘syndrome’ makes the reader the boss who says “like the Sultan, ‘If you bore me, you die.’” Although it does seem a bit extreme to put the reader in place of a Sultan who beheaded a wife a day, fighting for your life (or, in this case, the life of a newspaper) by telling a story is, essentially, what keeps the news going. To some, the idea of a news outlet that exudes unbiased fact and distributes only serious news updates may sound nice; however, after reading these chapters on human interests and how they have affected the media, I am of the opinion that we need the occasional fluff piece.

            I am not, by any means, belittling the role of in-depth political analyses. I am, however, saying that even sensationalist crime and gossip pieces provide an insight into the human condition that a summary of politics or stock market prices just can’t provide. Unbiased, informative news pieces are equally as necessary as passionate opinion pieces that cry for a call to arms or the latest criminal sensation.