I am a sports fan now?
For the first time in a long time I sat down to try and watch the 6 o’clock news. My nephews were over for dinner and the family was scrambling around. It was not the easiest thing to do but after failing to catch the news on Friday night I had to sit down and do the best I could. The broadcast started off with a female anchor mentioning a breaking news story but first gave developments in a story about a shooting (featured a male officer and male suspect, both people of color.) The first three stories were negative ones that took up the first ten minutes of the broadcast. Those stories went in this order: a shooting, a fire and car accident, and the coverage of a documentary release about an act of violence (featured a white male anchor on site.)
For the first time in a long time I sat down to try and watch the 6 o’clock news. My nephews were over for dinner and the family was scrambling around. It was not the easiest thing to do but after failing to catch the news on Friday night I had to sit down and do the best I could. The broadcast started off with a female anchor mentioning a breaking news story but first gave developments in a story about a shooting (featured a male officer and male suspect, both people of color.) The first three stories were negative ones that took up the first ten minutes of the broadcast. Those stories went in this order: a shooting, a fire and car accident, and the coverage of a documentary release about an act of violence (featured a white male anchor on site.)
After these three opening stories there was one positive
story about sports but then another negative story about a mall shooting with
an update on the search for a white male suspect and a first person account
from an older male of color. Following that was a positive story about the
Milwaukee Police Department recruitment (featured a black female officer and
white male recruits.) Next came the weather (white male meteorologist anchor,)
more good news about the opening of an African American History Museum
(featured clips with President Obama and family,) more weather updates
(considerably good news,) and more sports coverage (featured two white male
anchors.)
You can watch an archived version of the broadcast here.
From one sitting of just over thirty minutes of broadcast I concluded
that our breaking news and opening stories could really distort our social
reality into a violent and possibly fear inducing one. If I were not trying to
watch for a full half hour I would have been convinced that there was only
negative news out there. Fortunately there were sprinkles of positive news.
What really got to me about this news broadcast was how quickly
I identified with how the sports news was valuable. My sister and I are both
Wisconsin alums but she is a Badger fan and I could not care more for sports.
However, it must have been because I was hearing what I had heard all day from
her be reinforced on the news. The exposure I had from her along with the news
broadcast actually made me feel a tinge of Badger pride. I did not even
hesitate to call her over to watch the Wisconsin versus Michigan footage replay.
Even though I usually never pay attention to the sports I felt for a moment how
the story was valuable. This is how cultivation theory and media exposure works.
At one time a mainstream value was not shared but over time with exposure to
this value it becomes a shared social reality. Despite this I will let you
know that I could not sit through more than two minutes of the Big Sports
Saturday segment.
Story Headlines
“Charlotte Police Announce Release of Shooting Video.”
“Fire Pit Accident Injures Three”
“Slenderman Documentary”
“WI Vs. MSU”
“Mall Shooting Suspect Search”
“MPD Police Aide Open House”
Weather
“African American History Museum Dedicated in Washington,
DC”
Weather: “84 Days Record of Staying in the 70s”
“Big Sports Saturday”
I am not a news fan myself. When I do watch it it's more negative than positive coverage. It just semems like a broken record playing the same violent stories just in a different city or group of people. Thw coverage would make someone in another city weary of visiting. I relate to having a full deck and busy schedule, and watching the news being your last priority. With the coverage they show we can afford to miss a broadcast or two.
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