Opinion: 24-hour news doesn't use full journalistic power

In 1980, Ted Turner created the first 24-hour news channel, CNN (Cable News Network). The 24-hour news format provided viewers a faster pace of news production for an increased demand, and other networks emerged to increase competition. C-SPAN, MSNBC, and FoxNews have since taken the 24-hour news format to target their own audiences. But recent trend shows that these networks have decreased the public’s trust in mainstream media.  Many of the questions that arise revolve around their bias and overabundance of entertainment news.In their book, Warp Speed: America in the Age of Mixed Media, former journalists Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel said, “The press has moved more toward sensationalism, entertainment and opinion.” Their book was published in 1999 and examined the mainstream media’s obsession with coverage of the Monica Lewinsky scandal. This transition in news coverage has only accelerated since.Regardless of party, viewers can agree that FoxNews, MSNBC and the like lean strongly on their political views, and their audiences will not receive the same information because the stations have different opinions of what is “newsworthy.” People have referred to CNN as the “Clinton News Network” or the “Communist News Network;” FoxNews has long since been the butt of jokes of late-night news hosts such as David Letterman, Jay Leno and Jon Stewart. People no longer trust or respect these networks because there has been a dramatic decline in their journalistic standards. They no longer follow the expectations of a journalist to be fair, balanced and truthful, but instead report on the stories and news that support their already existing ideals.Does entertainment news get reported on these channels because it attracts views and thus creates more revenue, or is there not enough newsworthy information for them to report? Lance Armstrong’s drug use, Beyonce’s lip-syncing, and Manti Te’o’s fake girlfriend were all over news programs over the past few weeks.  Michelle Obama’s bangs got as much coverage, if not more, than her husband’s inauguration.Our society has become superficial enough to WANT this kind of news, but shouldn’t these news networks be providing the public the information that we NEED? They don’t talk about the fact that North Korea now has a three-stage rocket with enough range to potentially hit the United States. There’s no mention of the fact that the U.S. Postal Service is on the brink of financial collapse and is currently losing $25 million a day. It is a journalist’s job to provide the public with the information that they need to know, not the latest entertainment gossip.Do 24-hour news channels still have a purpose? The Internet has since become a viable news source, giving web users a multitude of news sources and stories on any topic that they choose. The turnaround of stories online is at a much faster rate than these 24-hour news networks. The benefit that television news has over the Internet is that they can provide the public with information that they may not be seeking out, but should know. But unless these networks revert back to their original intent and journalist standards, they are not using their power to its full advantage.