News as an entity of politics

Essay by Ron UriumHigh School, 12th gradeA, January 1996

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This essay touches on the topic of disinformation and the politics behind newspapers -

News is simply delineated as "a report of a recent event; something one has not heard of before"(Websters, 282). Conceding that it is inelaborate in its definition, news is much more intricate as it succumbs to corporate moneymaking ideologies. The corporate essence of news is prevalent in the form of the newspaper "a paper published periodically for circulating news" that is sold therefore making news a business. In business the saying goes that the customer is always right making news subject to the demands of these consumers. The underlying purpose of news is to "provide facts upon which decisions are based" (Mencher, 56). Yet this purpose is tainted to accommodate the newspapers need to sell papers. Journalism is the work of gathering news, therefore making the journalist succumb to the corporate needs of the newspaper. The three major newspapers of Toronto (Toronto Sun, Toronto Star and The Globe & Mail) discord in their journalistic techniques for the purpose of selling their product.

"News is more often made rather than gathered. And it is made on the basis of what the journalist thinks is important or what the journalist thinks the audience thinks is important" (Postman, 14).

The Toronto Sun focuses on the audience that yearns for entertainment and adjuts its word selection and choice of articles to accommodate this need for entertainment. The glitz and glamour of today's celebrities provide a fantasy world in which the reader can escape. The Toronto Sun leaves no stone uncovered as it stays on top of celebrity issues to accommodate their audience 'the average Joe' with entertainment. "Michael Jackson's wife gave birth to a baby boy yesterday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center" (T.Sun Feb. 18/97) in the article titled Oh Baby,