Saw a question on linkedIn and here on why there was so little good news in the papers. Having been a journalist before joining the dark side of the force, I have mixed feelings about this. I banked serious money writing about lay-offs, murder, rape, heroic police officers chasing bad guys, fistfights in bars, and corrupt politicians. Most of the time, I had the impression that financial rewarding of my articles was directly linked to liters of blood, sweat and tears. I did invest in “nice” stories about “good” stuff. A girl winning a dance contest. A man building the Eiffel tower with yellow matchsticks. People genuinely being happy at looking at the beach. Stories that made me happy even just writing it. Frankly, no one was even remotely interested in publishing them. The sad truth is: good news does not sell. And it does not sell, because no one wants to read it. Using simple mathematics, you could prove that people get the media they deserve. And people pay premium to know more about Paris Hiltons bed habits, Brittney Spears’ children, shoot-offs in schools, warming planets, tropical diseases, terrorism, war, and people randomly dying in utter misery. That is the news we read, thus pay for, thus encourage. It will be a long time before happy campers counting butterflies will rock the charts again… 🙁
