Mary’s Minute
“That's my gift. I let
that negativity roll off me like water off a duck's back. If it's not positive,
I didn't hear it. If you can overcome that, fights are easy.”
~ George Foreman
If you have ever made the
statement that American mainstream media is negative, you would be
correct. I read this week about a study
that analyzed reporting surrounding COVID-19.
The study examined news outlets across the world and found that about 87% of COVID coverage
in national U.S. media last year was negative. The negative slant was not consistent
across other news outlets: in
international media it was 51%, 53% in U.S. regional media, and 64% in
scientific journals. (By the way, there
was no difference between national media sources that are considered more liberal or
more conservative.)
Why are national media
sources so negative? Some suggest that
reporters are giving Americans what they want – what sells. Others argue that reporters are programmed to
be cynical in order to get to the truth in their stories, which can lead to
negativity. It is interesting that scientific
journals, which we would think would be objective, are only 64% negative
compared to 87% in mainstream American media.
Although we may not know
why national media is so negative, it is a fact that it is. Therefore, we need to remember that although we
cannot control what happens, we can control how we respond to it. George Forman won fights by not listening to
the negativity. Given the slant towards negativity in mainstream media, I think we all
need to do the same thing. We need to be
informed, but the next time you listen/read from a mainstream media source,
remember the bad news bias and let it roll off your back!
Have a
great week!
Mary
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