The Importance of Seeking a Balance in Positive News to Combat the Negative

With a world full of hate, racism, crime, corruption in politics, war, and so many more self-destructive events, negativity within society is on the rampage. One of the worst aspects to all of this negativity, is that so many people enjoy the element of human drama and emotion associated with it. I am not insinuating that these people endorse or condone these unfortunate occurrences, but they are keen on following dramatic news events, whether good or bad. And almost just as sad, is the fact that the news media love to report it just as much as some love to watch it and hear of it.

We cannot ignore or deny the existence of certain events which do occur throughout our world. Not only is it our right to be informed of what transpires, both locally and nationally, it is important that we obtain this knowledge in order to help us understand our societal surroundings and recognize international circumstances. But news of this kind does not need to be displayed in such a scandalous manner as it most often is.

There are some situations which require subjective reporting in order to satisfy the audience in the aspect that certain behavior will not be tolerated within our society. But most newsworthy events should be reported objectively, free of exploitation and glamorization. It should be reported fairly and factually, absent of any personal opinion; and most reporters adhere to these regulations. Where the problem lies, is in the way such negative news is splashed all over the front pages of newspapers and is often contained in the first segments of television news broadcasting. There is too much focus on the 'bad Samaritan' and not enough focus on the 'good Samaritan.'There is more emphasis on negative events than on positive.

Filling our newspapers and televisions with nothing but positive reports will not eliminate the fact that very negative incidents are happening each and every day, all over the world. But the reporting of negative issues only increases a negative viewpoint of the world in which we live.

Most of us in society are still humane and compassionate toward those around us and towards the rest of the world; and this should be dictated within news reporting. Increasing the percentage of positive issues into our daily news can only lead to more positive thinking and aid in making our world a more positive place to live.