(Fictional piece and commentary)
The Setting: An executive office of an International News (muti-media) Channel! Two executives having a private conversation.
“What do you think?”
“I think it’s brilliant. Why hasn’t someone thought of this before?”
“You know how ideas are, they’re just suddenly there!”
“So, have you found the person to fill this new position yet?”
“No, I have a few excellent prospects though. But I need to be extremely careful in the selection of this person. He or she will have a lot of control!”
“Well, I can understand that. You’ve settled on the name “Emotional Media Coordinator” then?”
“Yes, has a nice sound to it, don’t you think? This person will single-handedly train the first group of EMC’s Emotional Media Coordinators, whose sole task will be to follow our daily ratings and inform our media centers when they need to change the emotional mix of news being presented.
When the ratings are up they’ll send the message to include some “upbeat and fun” happenings in the news, or
perhaps some “new goings on in the science/art etc world. When the ratings begin to drop the Coordinators will send the message to play up the ‘negative news’ . You know, political happenings, disasters, scary things happening, ha, ha, lots of that out there! In the final analysis we will have our thumb on the emotional pulse of our viewers manipulatung their feelings so they’ll want to ‘stay tuned’, as it were!”
“I know we’ve already been doing that, generally speaking, but having a specific group to review, analyse and determine what we broadcast, and when, based on the numbers will really be a boost to our ratings.”
“Yes I’m sure it will. It’ll allow our “people” to “know” the type of content to show as well as how to emotionally present it to the public! This is just excellent.” The future is looking better and better – at least from my view of things – ha, ha, ha, get it … view of things … ha, ha, ha!”
~
This was a piece of fiction. Anyone surmising that this might actually be going on is … well happily entitled to their own opinions! They are your own opinions aren’t they? Well of course they are, Right? And just so you know I’m not biased, News reporters are people too!
~ Thanks for dropping by,
Penny
The Why About This 
Are you sure this is a work of fiction? 😉 I struggle with most all of the TV news, finding very little to embrace as unbiased honest reporting.
No actually I’m sure it is not a work of fiction. Except for the creative name for the coordinator, lol. I know this is a fact. Sadly so! 🙂
LOL – I think this is not so fictional.
There are times when I just have to go without watching the news because it’s just too much.
I like to hide myself in my little bubble every now & then.
xx 🙂 🙂 xx
I watch almost no TV news, I have a few credible sources as alternatives for staying informed of important events, local and internationally. Like you I just can t handle the excessive amounts of rhetoric crap that every news channel feels the need to lay on the viewers (I’m sorry, I know that’s rude but, come on …) Enjoy your bubble, a good thing RoSy! 🙂 xo
I believe every news operation in the country does have something like this right now, with the possible exception of NPR. Only the job title might be different; very perceptive, Penny!.
Yes, I do also! Thank you Perry!
This is another great post Penny. Had me smiling. Although this is fiction, it is entirely possible that some .. and I say some .. media companies do this.
Nah!!!!!!!!!
Am I being too sin-e-call? 😉
Nope! 🙂