Fear Factor

Scaring you helps
boost ratings, sell papers

Fear is a powerful motivator and news companies know that if used properly, audiences can be made to buy a copy of the publication or tune to a particular channel in hopes of protecting themselves from some new menace.

The Weather Channel warns us, "It Could Happen Tomorrow," while hoping we won't notice that if they're doing their jobs, we'll have plenty of warning. It's exceedingly rare when sunny skies instantly spawn tornadoes, floods or large hailstones. Still, if we’re warned often enough, we may come to believe that our lives are constantly at risk.

Steve Bornfeld, a media writer for the Las Vegas Review Journal, took a look at the local television stations in his market to see how they used fear to boost viewership. He used a report on KTNV’s 11 p.m. newscast as an example.

The lead story was the lesser offense, but still relied on manipulations – largely, what wasn't said – to keep a bit of fright on a fading story.

“Tiger on the Loose” – about a tame, king-size (450-pound) kitty that wandered through some yards when the owner lost sight of it – was the opening screen graphic. Surely sexier-scarier than an updated graphic – say, “Tiger Captured” – given that the formidable feline was collared 24 hours earlier, not sinking its teeth into a single tush.

Anchor Steve Wolford goosed the setup with adrenalized buzzwords – “freaking out,” “chaos,” “astonished,” “panic-stricken” – and Drew Karedes reported the day-old capture, omitting the day-old part.

Bornfeld concluded his story with the essence of television news teasers: “Tonight at 11 ... Boo!”

Being a frequent news consumer helps you to avoid falling prey to an overzealous media’s efforts to boost ratings or readership.

If you’re an informed news consumer, you’ll be able to tell the difference between real news and exaggerated news. Being a frequent consumer will give you the experience to tell the difference.