Reel Me In, Sweetheart.

“America’s journalists, i.e., television newscasters have not missed the point [About needing to look good]. Most spend more time with their hairdryers than their scripts…” On page 4 of Amusing Ourselves to Death, Postman points out (just as many other bloggers have) that the news makes appearance a top priority. Many of my fellow bloggers, and Postman himself, have looked down upon this practice. However, I think I understand why news stations would do this: looks matter. It sounds shallow, but it’s true. Most people probably wouldn’t want to watch someone who wasn’t appealing to them for an hour everyday. If newscasters didn’t look perfect, the whole time we would be staring at that giant pimple, or that lazy eye. It's horrible, i know, but that's who we are. We're human, we're shallow, and looks matter to us. I think the news should keep looks a big priority, and keep some entertainment in the news. It’s okay to talk about Miley Cyrus’ engagement, because the looks and the celebrity talk, it pulls people in. It makes people want to watch the news and pay attention to world affairs. Looks and a little meaningless talk is just the hook, to bring people in and make them sit down and pay attention. We’re a class of ambitious and bright kids, so most of us do read articles online or in the newspaper, but look around at our peers. How many other teenagers actually want to read online news articles about riots in the Middle East? How many adults take the time out of their day to Google what’s happening in Syria? It’s almost like when we were first learning to write papers and our teachers advised us to start with something interesting, something that’ll make the reader want to continue. That’s exactly what news producers are aiming at. The news producers know what they’re doing. Yes, their motive is the money, but look at what else is coming out of this. People are watching and paying attention! Isn’t that what we want? Don’t we need a way to get more people interested in world news?