News Flash: That's Not News.

By Solveig Rundquist on April 19, 2013

Uloop flaunts itself as the site to go to for college news. “The leading college news source for campus news and student news,” is its headline. So why is there so little news on Uloop?

Every day I log on and am shocked and a little disgruntled to see what has made headlines. Out of the eight “top stories” featured on the main page, only two can rightfully be called news. One is about what to do when you’re bored during class. “Worst Facebook Statuses!” shouts another. Other articles showing up on my feed are about lessons from Gossip Girl and spring fashion.

As I scan this so-called news, a disturbing thought creeps into the periphery of my brain. I try to ignore it, but it only comes closer. We’re left standing face to face, and it’s not pretty.

Is the college population’s puerile concept of “news” a symptom of a larger trend in US media?

While studying journalism at my university, I learned about news value. The list varied a bit here and there, but there were always commonalities when considering what makes a thing news. Is it timely? Is it something that just happened or was there a new development? Does the story have prominence? How directly will it impact the readers? What about proximity? Is it close to home? Many news organizations seem to be slowly losing sight of such qualifications. Big events – particularly violent ones – still make the news. But more and more is fluff.

The media are not here to simply entertain people. That is the job of an entertainer. Gossip Girl is entertainment; she/it does not need help from the news. What Penelope Cruz or Kristen Steward wore to an awards dinner will be spattered all over fashion magazines and social networking sites. But is it news? No.

The media have a responsibility, a social duty which needs to be taken seriously. The media should uncover truth. The media should inform the people and help them to make wise decisions. The media should present both sides of controversies. The media should alert people to potential harm. The media should strengthen the democratic process.

Almost half of the voting age population didn’t vote last year. Americans have also gained a global reputation for being uninformed – not just politically, but in general. Is this because our education system is struggling? Is this because we simply don’t care? Or is it because our “news” consists of who wore what and who said what?

I don’t believe it’s wholly any of the above, but rather a combination. But the media – including Uloop – have the power to do something about it. Keep that in mind next time you write a “news” article.

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