A tale of two tellies
By Jackie Zimmermann, Staff Writer
June 5, 2007 | 11:29 a.m.
If there is one thing I can say for the English, it is that they love their soaps.
Every day my flatmates and I discover a new show on the telly (that’s right, telly) that manages to completely captivate us. Whether a distraught woman is screaming at her adulterous lover or the maid is quietly slipping the family’s prized jewels into her apron to help pay her son’s way out of prison, the excitement is never-ending.
And if by some chance we can’t seem to find a melodramatic situation enthralling enough for us, there is always the backup programming to rely on. Game shows, like soap operas, can be found on the British airwaves in many different forms. The most ridiculous one so far involves teens stranded on islands and trying to “win over” new recruits. The island with the most people at the end wins all the money. Honestly, how high school is that? It basically promotes being fake to people in order to encourage them to stay with your group of friends.
While most of the time the five channels that we get are filled with frivolous shows like this, it is interesting to note that even the news in this country is slightly more relaxed than the news in the U.S. The background is very modern, and the news anchors are often either standing or sitting comfortably on a couch.
Also, the reporters here are much more opinionated than those in the states. For instance, the UK coverage of American events always manages to make me think about just how "free" free speech can be. The Virginia Tech tragedy was the first time I really noticed the difference in reporting techniques. Though I am overseas, the tragedy that occurred at the school did not escape me. There was plenty of news coverage here, and even an ocean didn’t keep me from feeling the same pain felt in universities across America.
However, as a journalist, it was fascinating for me to experience this unfortunate event from the perspective of another country. While the media was definitely sympathetic to Virginia Tech, there was definitely an underlying tone of “that’s what you get when you have the right to bear arms.”
In fact, while watching one newscast, I had tears welling up in my eyes, yet even that did not keep me from laughing out loud when a reporter asked the head of the Second Amendment Committee, “How many more tragedies like this must happen before you realize you are going in the wrong direction?”
The question goes beyond bias and into the realm of stating opinion as fact, a journey not many journalists are brave enough to take. In fact, journalism professors would cringe at the thought of one of their students committing such a horrid interviewing faux pas.
However, it does bring up an interesting point. Bias, no matter how hard one tries to eliminate it, almost always seems to creep into one’s thoughts and statements. As a journalism student, I am constantly taught to try to stay objective and to write stories with facts, not opinions. Yet, despite these efforts, I feel it is safe to say that some sort of bias ends up in the story. It might not be printed opinions or ideas, but responses received from loaded questions can put a spin on a story just like stating an opinion does.
Even though this bias is in my opinion unavoidable, mixed with the relaxed atmosphere of the newsroom it makes the media seem slightly less reliable than in the U.S. Now, I am definitely not one to say that all news outlets in the U.S. are reliable, because that certainly isn’t the case. However, it does seem slightly more professional.
I guess when I get home I’ll be able to just sit down and appreciate the news. That is, after I’ve spent time appreciating Scrubs and Family Guy.
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