Let’s speculate on what to predict next!

“We know there is a vast morass of information out there that our audiences want us to try to make sense of. The danger consists in trying to leap above it, not by getting more dramatic or salient or verifiable facts, but by analyzing, speculating, predicting, interpreting – by drawing definitive conclusions while the bodies are still warm.” Paul Knox, The Globe and Mail

Paul Knox makes a valid point. Why is this done so much in reporting these days? Why do journalists feel the need to extrapolate and predict for us? Are they worried we won’t reach these conclusions on our own, or is it part of the struggle to present the same material in a new light? Do they do it to stretch a story when there aren’t enough facts?

It is a bit of a mystery, and what I found interesting is that this tends to happen more in American news coverage. A good example is the election coverage in the US. If you want examples of journalists speculating, predicting and interpreting…look no further. It’s all there.

It’s true that this is a very exciting time for news in the US, and the election is charged with many issues and controversy, but it seems to be that it is interesting all on its own, without the constant speculation by the American media. For the first time, they have a black man, and a woman running for the presidency.

As George Bush’s reign of terror draws to an end, the whole world is watching to see who’s going to be running things next. Is the media simply excited by all the attention? Do they want to drag out every bit of new information with speculation because they feel that they are reporting something people really care about and that this time people are watching? Are they trying to one up one another? Do they get a prize if what they predict actually happens?

In an effort to keep viewers tuning in, American reporters may be turning people off.

March 25, 2008. Tags: barak obama, bias, bill o'reilly, cnn, hillary clinton, snl. election, politics. Leave a comment.