Click Bait Reporting


"reporters have no choice but to chase clicks"-Anatomy of a Moral Panic

The blog post Anatomy of a Moral Panic really opened my eyes to the issue of Amazon's algorithm for suggesting other purchases. I hadn't ever seen any media on this topic before. I am use to seeing those suggestions however with the things I buy it usually suggests similar items. I would imagine Amazon doesn't have a team that is dedicated to looking for ingredients that make certain explosions. However the topic I was most interested in was about the click bait nature of journalists and their desire for large amount of clicks instead of quality journalism. I have noticed this on KOMO News a lot in the last few years. They put a nice catchy often relatable or eye catching title and you want to click it. Only soon to be largely disappointed that your click was a waste of time and the article contained little on that actual topic. I saw this on my Facebook feed a while back and I saw it as sad obviously but the article was a complete waste of time and gave no details but of course mentioned pit bulls which is a common hot topic among pet owners and the community. 


It looks like an example where the journalist heard the few details and had to get it out rather then waiting for any further details to come out. I see it as an opportunity to stir the pot on the hot topic of pit bulls. While this example is very small and I would hope have very little impact it is still concerning. This makes many many articles I have seen written by KOMO News that are similar. Or has anyone noticed the lovely trend of journalist to essentially just write out the quotes from a video they made and the writing holds no other details then what you just watched. They just doctor it up with some extra words. 
https://komonews.com/news/local/seattle-storm-gms-sister-flies-in-from-fire-lines-to-continue-relief-work?fbclid=IwAR2fLpgqUEOYnpsmSLH7dQM5pV612ZnTnJ3lYkfOrcGNiYohUxTnWE0ofec

You can watch the video and get the same information as the written parts. But besides that this almost a waste of a read. Again, it is a sad very relevant topic right now and they found a connection with Washington so they tracked this poor lady down at the airport to get her very short small story. A more important story would have focused on her relief work like the title of the article suggests. Instead it simply said she will be doing relief work and that was it. 

This may be my rant post of the week but it feels like when you see through some tactics to get your clicks you want to share and discuss it. 

Comments

  1. JaneNovember 29, 2018 at 10:55 AM

    Most social media sites are designed to encourage "clicks" and "Shares" without actual reading -- journalists now get revenue from times their posts are clicked or shared. To me, that means that there is a whole new level of education needed about how people now read news, and how we now reward bad journalism by mindlessly clicking and sharing.

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