There is a growing problem inherent in the 24-hour news era.
There just isn’t enough bona fide national news to fill that hole.
This problem leads to an even worse dilemma; broadcasting stations filling the rest of their programming with pundits, or “talking heads,” to help people make sense of the news.
At first it may appear to be a good thing, helping people understand complex issues.
I agree this would be a good thing if that’s what pundits did; however, they do not.
Talking heads instead are forcing their opinions on their viewers regardless of how fact-based said views are.
Since stations are only worried about ratings, the people most likely to become pundits are people who hold polarizing views and create a buzz, negative or positive, around the program.
This leads to a party or idea-oriented slant on most topics pundits talk about.
There is no harm in punditry like this; however, the problem arises when stations do not clearly delineate punditry programs from bona fide news programs, which leads to some people believing what a pundit says like it’s fact, when it is only opinion.
I don’t have a world-saving solution to this problem.
I only have a plea to you, my fellow students: Please consume your media carefully and don’t accept everything on T.V. as fact.
Instead be skeptical and get the truth.
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