If you've turned on the TV in the last month and watched even five minutes of national TV news programming, you've likely been bombarded with one of two scenes: Michael Jackson's death or the protests in Iran.
One thing curiously missing from this picture is extensive coverage of the escalating situation in North Korea.
In national TV news organizations' fight for more viewers, those making decisions are compromising important news coverage by focusing on less important news stories that will bring viewers instead of more important stories. As a result, they're setting the public agenda - and they're setting it poorly.
I fully believe the protests in Iran and Michael Jackson's death are both extremely relevant stories, but I question if they deserve the around-the-clock coverage they have been getting, especially when situations such as the one in North Korea continue without comprehensive coverage.
For those of you who may be out of the news loop, since the beginning of the summer North Korea has performed an underground nuclear test, launched almost a dozen missiles into the seas around them, called off the 55-year cease fire with South Korea and threatened war to any country who tried to uphold the U.N. sanctions against them.
Also during this time, the world found out North Korea has enough materials for half a dozen nuclear warheads and has missiles capable of hitting Alaska and Hawaii with those warheads.
In addition, if North Korea were to attack South Korea or Japan, the United States is bound by alliances to provided supplies and troops.
The last thing the thinly-stretched Army needs now is another war, and if a war were to break out between North Korea and another country, the implications would be severe and global.
China, India and Russia, three of the largest populated countries in the world, are in close range to North Korea and have spoken out against North Korea's actions this summer, possibly setting them up for retaliation if North Korea were to strike.
Although this situation has gotten some coverage, it has been sparse, and mostly in newspapers, not national TV news stations.
Compare this to the importance of the protests in Iran. Yes, pro-democracy protesters rising up against a repressive government in the Middle East is important and, if successful, could alter the political landscape in that area. But overall, the likelihood of that happening is slim. Even if it did happen, the global implications are small.
Additionally, compare the importance of the situation in North Korea to the importance of Michael Jackson's death. Michael Jackson was an international figure and essentially cemented the creation of the pop genre, but his death doesn't have the possibility of nuclear winters or mass casualties.
Going a step further, when was the last time a news event had coverage by so many national TV news organizations for as long a period of time as his death has gotten - repeatedly preempting previous programming to cover some aspect of his death (initial report, funeral and memorial).
The last one I could think of was 9/11.
The death of one internationally loved pop singer doesn't sit on the same level as the largest attack on U.S. soil since Pearl Harbor.
Many Americans rely on news organizations, especially national TV news programming, to keep somewhat abreast of the state of the world. Viewers relate the amount of coverage a story gets to its overall importance. When stories such as Michael Jackson's death and the protests in Iran get considerably more coverage than the situation in North Korea, Americans are likely to dismiss the less prominent story as unimportant.
If the situation in North Korea is anything, it's important.
The current problem isn't all national TV news organizations' fault though. They know that Americans are more likely to stay tuned in to a story laced with scandal, like Michael Jackson's death and the protesters in Iran.
Corporate sponsorships and the number of viewers a station gets are important, but more important is an unbiased public agenda where coverage and significance are matched.
National TV news organizations should focus more on what people need to know and less on what people will be entertained by.
Otherwise, what good is the E! network if we can find the same amount of celebrity news coverage on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News?
Write to Frank at frhood@bsu.edu
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