Brief 7: Exploitation of News Story

Human beings can be pretty awful sometimes. Only the sleaziest of people can look upon suffering and agony and think, I know how to make a quick buck off of this.... and then proceed to do so. But I suppose, for as long as human beings have been around, there have always been those who constantly looking for ways that can benefit from exploiting the pain of others. It can be seen throughout world history over many civilizations of how leaders, generals, political figures, etc. caused pain and suffering to push their agenda, or used a tragedy to accomplish what they wanted. So it should come as no surprise that there are people who would take a tragic news story that will gain much attention and use it for monetary profit.

There are countless examples of how people take news and twist it for money. In this day and age, the way to get profit from a story is through views. If you produce a title that promises the story that will follow will be gritty, appalling, and graphic, then people will click on it. They can't help it; it is human nature. Whether it is because they love a juicy story, or they want to be informed, people will want to know the gossip behind shocking stories. Thus this leads to people producing fabricated stories to play on the psychology of people and their curiosity.

This could not be more prevalent in tabloids. You get two celebrities talking in a public place, and the story that comes out they are sleeping together and the woman is about to have the man's baby while still married to someone else. As outlandish as it sounds, it is the sad truth. Just this year, Jenifer Aniston was caught on camera speaking with former husband, Brad Pitt at an exclusive event. Now, the simple exchange turned into the two rekindling love and planning a beach wedding. The trick is to take an event and bend it to increase people's interest to view your product. But this is just a minor example, a harmless one if you will. The real sad truth is when these same people would turn right around and use this same tactic in the scene of a crisis.

It's one thing to spin a tale on celebrities made up love lives to get views, but it takes on a new low exploit a tragedy for views. Many journalist will tell you, it is difficult to report on tragedy. It takes careful consideration to produce the facts of a crisis without being insensitive. One article described it as emphasis not exploit. Reporting on a tragedy focuses on emphasizing the facts to keep the masses informed, and not disrespecting the lives involved and lost by exploiting the details for money.

The difference is the motive. Many journalists stand by the principle that the facts of a crisis are crucial to report. It keeps confusion down, and people have the right to be informed. However, when the motive strays away from informative to entertainment then it shifts from emphasis to exploitation. It is not hard to tell based on the writing and what facts are focused on. If it is on the statistics of the matter, the cold facts, then you know the reporter was keeping the people informed. If the details look to glamorize the events or create controversy amidst a delicate time, then you know they were only looking to get views.

There are countless examples of people jumping to a crisis, playing on the fear and high emotions, and making profit. Its not just reporters that are guilty either. In recent news, you see people scamming the vulnerable by using the coronavirus. They are playing on people's fear and selling masks and germX far over priced. They are using the shortage to their advantage to get people to over pay even when officials claim the mask is ineffective! 

Or how about people selling merchandise from the Boston marathon bombing.  Taking to ebay to say they had items retrieved from the event and trying to sell them for a quick buck. These people take a news story that will gain a lot of traction due to the nature of the event, and use it to their advantage. It is sick and inhumane. But, feelings aside, it is common place how people will use the publicity of a news story for profit.