Short attention spans and sensationalism

As defined by major dictionaries, short attention span describes a person or an entity’s ability to focus on one particular thing for a small period of time. An example would be major media channels in the Philippines who shifted their focus from issues such as senator’s plunder charges to cases of celebrity harassment.

Sensationalism, on the other hand, is defined as the act of turning a subject matter into an astonishing item that is given huge importance, to the point that the news bit is bloated into a massive proportion which seizes the airwaves and the radio waves by storm. A perfect example for this phenomenon is the current issue that plagued online news feeds, television broadcasts, radios, and newspapers nationwide, just a few weeks ago. The issue – apparently news of national concern – that I’m referring to is the scandal which involves a TV host actor, a businessman, and a model of sorts.

Now, before anything else, I respect and understand the fact that the beatdown of said person, may it be a celebrity or a normal citizen, is definitely newsworthy and should be broadcasted to the general masses so that awareness may be raised when it comes to, well, going to a condominium at the very least. I also share my sympathies and best wishes to the TV host actor for he did not deserve such a gruesome act of violence. As a matter of fact, no one deserves a beatdown of that magnitude.

However, as scandalous as it may seem, this issue is not of national concern and it should not be hoarding the majority of television news or any news outlet for that point alone.

Moreover, as this story develops, politicians or senators who are on trial over a plunder and graft case should not be pitching into the story as a way of diverting people’s attention and heat towards their respective cases. Well, to be fair, while it is possible that these senators may have some involvement over the subjects of the celebrity issue, it is still sickening for them to fully fixate themselves on the topic and forget about the responsibilities that they face within the Senate court.

Politicians should just stop riding on the momentum of this story. These senators are doing everything that they can in order to bring justice to the TV host. However, why are they so focused doing this while they’re on the verge of losing all credibility as politicians due to the issue of corruption and plunder? The obvious answer is that by saving the TV host in this warped story, they might also save themselves by getting the sympathy of the masses and the fans of the celebrity.

Going back to the point at hand, sensationalism and short attention span are common attributes of Philippine media nowadays. Media channels tend to popularize a simple story into a behemoth of raging issues and topics as they tend to leave the previous narrative without a follow through or a conclusion. Much like how the Philippine media immediately shifts its focus from a long standing political standoff between corrupt senators against the current administration to a spiral of scandals in the celebrity world.

It seems that the Filipino train of thought is getting slowly derailed as lapses and voids of information are left standing still without any follow ups regarding topics of higher importance as compared to celebrity scandals.

In a way, media behemoths focusing on this celebrity issue may just be pushing through with a network ploy as they capitalize on the number of curious audiences nationwide. Will audience ratings and reception justify the act of sensationalizing news, and shift media attention to news of “lesser value”? Whatever happened to relevant issues which shape the political and social landscape, like the storm surge which left 11 casualties in the Visayas region?

All of these news items are currently buried in the shadowy depths of a celebrity scandal and similar news. But, in all that is fair, not everything is to be blamed on the media channels who are also the envoys of information dissemination. Both the readers and the viewers are also part of the problem as today’s generation of audiences tend to lack the vigilance when it comes to pursuing or following through with the conclusion in a story.

In any case, a new headline in today’s headlines would be a sight for sore eyes. It’s really about time that we news consumers moved forward to topics and news that matters. Politics and the social conditions in the Philippines won’t change for the better by resolving a celebrity scandal. Open your eyes and listen carefully people, there are relevant news out there compared to scandals and show times.