That is, the news media tend to be attracted to the worst in us. And the worst of events. This includes crime.
But it is so much bigger than that.
On Friday I was driving around here and there while listening to NPR (recall from the book that NPR does a much better job of keeping people informed of objective facts than say mainstream TV news stations).
One story caught my ear. It was about Tiger Woods.
Yes, that Tiger Woods.
The question was, what's wrong with Tiger? As in, how come he has not won a major tournament in years?
How come he seemed poised to take the title of "most major championships" away from Jack Nicklaus and then suddenly, he cannot buy a win at a major?
My first reaction was, did the media forget about the Tiger Woods scandal--the story about a man clearly out of control in his private life--kept alive for so long in the media itself? Because, yeah, that is what explains it.
Incredibly, the reporter on NPR pointed out that Tiger Woods leads all professional golfers with the most victories this year on tour--five. Next best? Two.
And he tops the money list.
And he leads the points standings for overall best golfer.
And he is ranked #1 in the world.
Oh yeah, and he is not playing bad at majors either. He has come close, finishing in the top 5.
Sure, he wants to win. And the fans want him to win. But there is nothing wrong with him. He's just human after all.
You think NPR would be smart enough to know that.
How about a story about how he has gotten his life back together? How he has a stable girlfriend, a civil relationship with his ex-wife, and is still being a father to his kids?
Is that too positive a story for even NPR?
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