Lack of news follow up or customer attention span?

[joemilitary]

So my wife and I watch a decent amount of news. One of the things we notice is how stories seem to "disappear" (no follow up after being a big story for a fee days / weeks).

I wonder why that is

Like an example is back when Japan had the tsunami and the nuclear incident. Got major coverage. Talked about fallout coming over to Cali / west coast. Then the story seemed to disappear. (At least to us, unless we missed it)

Same thing seems to be happening with Baltimore riots.

These are just off the top if my head. If I think I am sure I will come up w/ more.

Is it because the news is just interested in the next big thing to grab our attention? And they realize most Americans have short attention span?

[djAdvocate]

Jul 6, 2015 13:09:55 GMT -5 joemilitary said:

So my wife and I watch a decent amount of news. One of the things we notice is how stories seem to "disappear" (no follow up after being a big story for a fee days / weeks).

I wonder why that is

Like an example is back when Japan had the tsunami and the nuclear incident. Got major coverage. Talked about fallout coming over to Cali / west coast. Then the story seemed to disappear. (At least to us, unless we missed it)

Same thing seems to be happening with Baltimore riots.

These are just off the top if my head. If I think I am sure I will come up w/ more.

Is it because the news is just interested in the next big thing to grab our attention? And they realize most Americans have short attention span?

hysteria is the toughest of all emotions to sustain.

[ArchietheDragon]

Jul 6, 2015 13:42:52 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

Jul 6, 2015 13:09:55 GMT -5 joemilitary said:

So my wife and I watch a decent amount of news. One of the things we notice is how stories seem to "disappear" (no follow up after being a big story for a fee days / weeks).

I wonder why that is

Like an example is back when Japan had the tsunami and the nuclear incident. Got major coverage. Talked about fallout coming over to Cali / west coast. Then the story seemed to disappear. (At least to us, unless we missed it)

Same thing seems to be happening with Baltimore riots.

These are just off the top if my head. If I think I am sure I will come up w/ more.

Is it because the news is just interested in the next big thing to grab our attention? And they realize most Americans have short attention span?

hysteria is the toughest of all emotions to sustain.

Love it.   Did you just coin that phrase?

[djAdvocate]

Jul 6, 2015 13:43:49 GMT -5 ArchietheDragon said:

Jul 6, 2015 13:42:52 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

hysteria is the toughest of all emotions to sustain.

Love it.   Did you just coin that phrase?

yep. 

[Ombud]

We got their trash, boats, piers, then the onslaught slowed

[thyme4change]

News sucks.  They don't tell us anything that matters, and spend a disproportionate amount of time on things that don't matter at all.  I don't know if we should blame it on the low intelligence of people, or the lazy nature of people.

I read one of those "confessions" from someone who worked at a national news source.  Basically they said that for the most part, stories were handed to them.  Companies issued press releases and they just summarized them.  Advocacy groups would write stuff specifically to be reported on.  You can always see when someone has an agenda - they can get it on the news like it is a story, but it isn't.  Once I read it, I started watching to see if any story - ever - had information from more than one source.  I have decided that HLN reading Twitter comments that relate to the Supreme Court decisions (or whatever the top story is) doesn't count as a second source.  The reason the story 'stops' is because they would have to do actual work to update us.  

[resolution]

Jul 6, 2015 13:09:55 GMT -5 joemilitary said:

So my wife and I watch a decent amount of news. One of the things we notice is how stories seem to "disappear" (no follow up after being a big story for a fee days / weeks).

I wonder why that is

Like an example is back when Japan had the tsunami and the nuclear incident. Got major coverage. Talked about fallout coming over to Cali / west coast. Then the story seemed to disappear. (At least to us, unless we missed it)

Same thing seems to be happening with Baltimore riots.

These are just off the top if my head. If I think I am sure I will come up w/ more.

Is it because the news is just interested in the next big thing to grab our attention? And they realize most Americans have short attention span?

Fukushima is still leaking radioactive water and small traces of radioactivity have started to reach Canada. There is a lot of speculation that the lack of news about it is due to a cover up on the part of TEPCO and the Japanese government, although there is plenty of news out there if you look for it.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/11627983/Fukushima-leak-could-cause-hydrogen-explosion-at-nuclear-plant.html

 www.newsweek.com/radiation-japans-fukushima-detected-canada-320009

[Peace Of Mind]

Jul 6, 2015 21:34:49 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

News sucks.  They don't tell us anything that matters, and spend a disproportionate amount of time on things that don't matter at all.  I don't know if we should blame it on the low intelligence of people, or the lazy nature of people.

I read one of those "confessions" from someone who worked at a national news source.  Basically they said that for the most part, stories were handed to them.  Companies issued press releases and they just summarized them.  Advocacy groups would write stuff specifically to be reported on.  You can always see when someone has an agenda - they can get it on the news like it is a story, but it isn't.  Once I read it, I started watching to see if any story - ever - had information from more than one source.  I have decided that HLN reading Twitter comments that relate to the Supreme Court decisions (or whatever the top story is) doesn't count as a second source.  The reason the story 'stops' is because they would have to do actual work to update us.  

I agree!  DH and I were just discussing this about how news is now just to get you to click on something for the count (so it will generate paid advertising) or to watch a TV channel with an interesting sound bite type news report only to learn absolutely nothing from the report.  Nothing of any use whatsoever!   And they are usually about something you need to learn so you have to Google it to actually learn something useful or to find out it's just b.s. and a dramatic story to get you to "tune in".   

[marvholly]

I think it is several things: newer/bigger stories, laziness of media & short attention span of audience.

Also we MUST have LONG sports reports (women's soccer, player interviews, repeat, repeat & repeat of ALL the goals), plus mutliple celebrity tidbits (who is with whom, who is NOT with whom, who wore what where.....) plus blurbs about what is on the NEXT newscast.

[joemilitary]

Another example is the NY prisoner escape....nothing....no follow up for quite a few days now

I am sure local people like Swamp know the scoop....but the media ahs forgot the story already...

[Tennesseer]

Jul 8, 2015 16:50:26 GMT -5 joemilitary said:

Another example is the NY prisoner escape....nothing....no follow up for quite a few days now

I am sure local people like Swamp know the scoop....but the media ahs forgot the story already...

One prisoner was shot dead. The other prisoner was shot and captured. We know the motives of the woman who helped them. We know a male prison guard helped them too. State prison officials are still investigating. Not much more to report until the state finalizes their findings.

[Ryan]

I don't watch the news at all...I don't even really read the news.  What am I missing?  Probably nothing.  I figure if the news is big enough I'll hear it from someone else.