Last week was quite intense for the media industry, raising questions about ethics and ratings that often conflict with each other. (From the author's experience producing shows for various channels, sometimes ratings matter less than the politics within certain stations, where the whispers of mid-level executives can influence the higher-ups, leading to a drop in ratings... funny, right?) Back to the topic of media ethics, which has been heavily scrutinized after a suspect in a case that has left many confused about whether anyone is truly guilty has become a social celebrity, taking on event gigs almost daily.

From what I’ve observed from a distance, this news has stations closely following and competing with each other, alternating between wins and losses. At the same time, they present news topics that make younger audiences exclaim, “What the heck?” due to the continuous live reporting from the scene, transforming it into a semi-reality show format that lasts as long as a full drama episode. This has created a bond between viewers and every character in the news story. As the news unfolds, the individuals involved become the heroes, heroines, and villains, sometimes even adding comic relief, making the news script more entertaining than the dramas that air afterward.

This situation reminds me of the O.J. Simpson case, the former running back for the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers, who became a suspect in the murder of his ex-wife and her new partner. When O.J. learned he was a suspect, he refused to surrender peacefully and instead had a friend drive him away, leading to a live news broadcast that was as thrilling as a Hollywood movie scene.

O.J.'s escape occurred after he was advised by his lawyer to turn himself in to the police, but instead, he had his close friend, Al Cowlings, drive a white Ford Bronco down the Los Angeles freeway to flee. When the police learned of this, they pursued him, while seven television stations used helicopters to closely cover the live broadcast.

The live coverage lasted for two hours, with an estimated 95 million viewers tuning in at that time. Major networks like NBC even cut away from the NBA Championship Game 5 between the Houston Rockets and New York Knicks to broadcast this event. Just think about how significant this news was.

It’s clear that the O.J. Simpson news came in a human interest format, partly because O.J. was a nationally recognized figure. Television stations fiercely competed by using helicopters to follow the Ford Bronco he was in, leading to exhaustive coverage of every angle of the case, analyzed until there was nothing left to analyze.

Then came the day of the verdict in October 1995, decided by a jury of 12, which included 8 people of color, 1 white person, 1 Hispanic, and 2 Asians. The jury, who listened to the arguments between O.J.'s defense attorneys and the prosecution, ultimately decided in October 1995 that O.J. was not guilty of murder, leaving the case without a real murderer identified to this day.

The reason I share the O.J. Simpson story is to highlight that there’s nothing new under the sun. In the past, the media had to report according to the public's interest, and today it remains the same. The more viewers there are, the more the news must cater to their demands. However, in the end, news producers must maintain a fine line between what constitutes news and a reality show. Because the day an editorial team or channel executives decide to turn news into a reality show, that day, your credibility as a journalist is instantly lost.

SOURCE : tonkit360.com