Journalism Turned into Opinioni-sm

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What is news? What is opinion? Blended.

When Prince Harry decided to take his family to U.S. to avoid toxic fossils, media
called it Megxit. A family decision, named after a political decision like Brexit?

How newspapers, television and online platforms gather and deliver news changed the product. It blended news and opinion, making what we were taught in journalism school, obsolete. Be subjective. That was the creed. Report what happened. Don’t put your spin on it.

The notion of being subjective in journalism should be retired because Good Morning Britain, Good Morning America, Good Morning European Union, Oprah, Fox News, The Daily Show, The View etc. are platforms that take a stand on any given issue. It’s perceived as the right thing to do.

In fact, it might be wrong to say ‘news’ and ‘opinion’ have blended because opinion has eclipsed what is news. Piers Morgan walks out of Good Morning Britain because of  Alex Beresford’s take on how Morgan feels about Meghan Markle.

That is no longer news if I retweet. My retweet is opinion, not breaking news. I had the option of not re-tweeting it, but I did to demonstrate how I feel about it.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with opinion. In fact, it was one of the perks of being a newspaper editor. They took the news and editorialized it. Why, they even told readers why they endorsed presidential candidate B, and not A.

Some journalists might disagree that ‘opinion’ has killed what is breaking news. They might argue that they still have television interviews to show both sides of the story.

That is pointless, if television hosts are told to ask questions that demonstrate the T.V. channel’s stand on the issue. Then comes headlines. Nothing subjective there, pure opinion.

‘Brexit’, is the headline associated with Britain’s exit from the European Union. A married couple, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decide to step back from royal duties and also leave England. The British media dubs it ‘Megxit’ to blame the wife for a joint decision.

Megxit is not a headline. It’s an opinion.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.

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