Yellow Journalism: Still Found Today in our Society

The fact that not only are we still being deceived by the same concepts that were created in the 19^th-century but the fact that they are advancing to such extreme levels where it is unavoidable yet rarely noticeable. Yellow journalism is when journalism and newspapers present exaggerated and possibly unprofessional news that lacks in research due to its reliance on eye-catching topics. This concept has adapted itself throughout the years to be almost indistinguishable from actual real news which is an alarming thought. The use of flashy usually misleading headlines is unfortunately extremely common in today’s society. Our shorter attention spans are used to the media's

advantage by creating interesting topics that can distract us from the truth that is right in front of us. If someone were to go online to search for news articles it would be extremely easy to mistake an add or fake news as a reliable news source. Advertisements have been a constant part of everyone’s life, yet people try to avoid these adds so companies work to blend their advertisements into the real news.

The competition that is created by the countless news sources available to us today makes each company have to keep up with the constant usually exaggerated news topics that are produced every day. This puts great pressure on new sources to create interesting updates and when there is little to report they feel as though they are forced to produce fake news or try to make minuscule topics into something much bigger. This can lead to people obtaining inaccurate information and spreading it as facts to other people. This is unacceptable in my eyes because the greed of some people needing good ratings makes countless people suffer the consequences of believing in awfully embellished ideas. This is harmful to society because it leads people to blindly follow any information, they find which can lead to overall ignorance and an ignorant world could create a dense community.

  It is as though we have expanded on the concept of the penny press which was tabloid-style mass-produced newspapers. The only change that we have had throughout these years is that we have moved to online platforms which would actually worsen the effects of its crudeness. Due to the news today being so saturated by the constant use of gore and gossip the idea of mass-produced constant updates that are somehow always intriguing. Now with our instant access to all types of news and information, this concept would only be worse due to the fast-pace lives of everyone. People expect things instantly and constantly, so the news sources feel as though they need to keep up with our desire for updated and interesting topics every day even if there is no new news. When there is a lack of intense and eye-catching news the sources will stretch any information into something that we would want to read. News sources have become more of a story-telling device than simply reporting important news that people should be aware of. Instead, people are continuously overreacting to non-existent problems because the news is more concerned with their ratings than keeping the public updated. The news is supposed to be a way to stay connected to the rest of the world but now it seems it is more of a way to hear intriguing and heart-throbbing stories.

The embellishments and over-saturation of news that cause an overreaction in the public because they believe that the situation is as bad as the news state it is. This can be seen today by turning on a news station at any time and there is more of a possibility that there will be discussions about the Coronavirus compared to anything else. Even before it became an actual issue the media was oversaturated with constant updates and worrisome statements about this virus.

To end this fake news, we would need muckrakers in today's society to expose these injustices. The muckrakers were journalists who showed the corruption found in the usually wealthy leader and corporate monopolies.  We need people who work to expose the companies who are only looking out for their own profit so we can be aware of who is credible or not. Investigative journalism needs to be more common in today’s society, so we can have access to unbiased news sources and avoid fake news. To finally end the reign of yellow journalism and penny press a great deal of work is required from journalists to create unbiased and true news and to help society differentiate between the real and the fake.