Editorial Preference

On August 24 at 9:03 a.m. outside of the Empire State Building in New York, Jeffrey Johnson shot and killed former co-worker Steven Ercolino, however, it seems that many did not hear of it in the light of another tragedy.

On the following day, American astronaut and the first man to ever walk the moon, Neil Armstrong died after experiencing complications during surgery to relieve blocked coronary arteries. The famous space pioneer was 82 years old, and is set to be buried at sea.
Both stories are tragic, yet were not equally broadcast.
Why?
The answer appears to simply be that Armstrong, a household name, was certainly more widely known.
He lived a long and successful life, inspiring many generations.
Ercolino, on the other hand, was an average American citizen, with the rest of his life ahead of him. The world will never know what achievements he might have accomplished, and while Armstrong’s death is certainly a great loss for the world, does Ercolino not deserve a wonderful tribute as well?
This is not the first time that the media has cast aside certain news stories, in favor of others.
Early in 2012, news of Joseph Kony, head of the Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army, broke in a big way.
The Internet exploded in a campaign to stop Kony’s forming of an army, and now that the media’s attention has shifted yet again, there is no real solution to the problems of Uganda, despite all the coverage and media attention, which, in the end, is what will keep Kony present in the minds of society, not his brutal war crimes.
The media all too often chooses “fluffy” stories – perhaps about a celebrity’s new tattoo or expensive hotel bill, assuming that the general public will find this more interesting than world affairs, and all too often these days, they are correct.
Urbana High School teacher Michael Pollock said, “All media outlets except maybe NPR and PBS exist to make money for shareholders. Therefore, they may choose stories that are ‘sensational’ and will draw the most public attention. That’s called playing to the audience, and is not always in the best interest of good journalism.”
The reality of our world today is that violence, tragedy and greed occur, and occur on a daily basis, and it is the media’s job to expose and inform these evils, not hand pick what they think their audience should or should not know.
“The fix is simple – use good journalistic principles and don’t pander to the public. Investigate, write, and run the stories that as professional reporters they believe are the important stories that a well-informed public needs to know,” said Pollock.
Tragedies are unfortunate to say the least, but, without informing the general public, they go unnoticed.
In the end, it is up to the viewers or readers to decide whether they want to watch the news, or their favorite reality show.
Later shot by police officers, Johnson’s motive for murder are still very unclear.