This article is about a term for trivia presented in place of journalism. For the term 'junk news', see Fake news.
Junk food news is a sardonic term for news stories that deliver "sensationalized, personalized, and homogenized inconsequential trivia",[1] especially when such stories appear at the expense of serious investigative journalism. It implies a criticism of the mass media for disseminating news that, while not very nourishing, is "cheap to produce and profitable for media proprietors."[1]
Meaningedit
The term junk food news was first used in print by Carl Jensen in the March 1983 edition of Penthouse. As the leader of Project Censored, he had frequently faulted the media for ignoring important stories. In response, says Jensen, editors claimed that other stories were more important, and bolstered this claim with ad hominem comments directed against him.
...news editors and directors...argued that the real issue isn't censorship—but rather a difference of opinion as to what information is important to publish or broadcast. Editors often point out that there is a finite amount of time and space for news delivery—about 23 minutes for a half-hour network television evening news program—and that it's their responsibility to determine which stories are most critical for the public to hear. The critics said I wasn't exploring media censorship but rather I was just another frustrated academic criticizing editorial news judgment.[1]
To give this argument a fair hearing, Jensen decided to conduct a review to determine which stories the media had considered more important. But instead of hard-hitting investigative journalism, what he discovered was the phenomenon that he termed junk food news fell into predictable categories:[1]
Political news (bi-annual coverage of congressional campaign promises)
As the flip side to its annual list of the Top 25 Censored Stories, Project Censored publishes an annual list of the Top 10 Junk Food News stories, compiled by members of the National Organization of News Ombudsmen.
Fake news – False or misleading information presented as real
Hot take, also known as Pundit debate and analysis of sports and political news – Immediate opinionated commentary on news events
Media circus, also known as Media hype – Phrase describing excessive media coverage
Media culture – Norms, behaviors and artifacts of Western society as shaped by 20th-century mass communications
Sensationalism – Type of editorial tactic used in mass media
Soft media, also known as soft news – Organizations focused on producing infotainment
Referencesedit
^ abcdJensen, Carl (2001). "Junk Food News 1877-2000". In Phillips, Peter (ed.). Censored 2001. Seven Stories Press. pp. 251–264. ISBN978-1-58322-064-1.
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junk, food, news, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, march, 20. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Junk food news news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article is about a term for trivia presented in place of journalism For the term junk news see Fake news Junk food news is a sardonic term for news stories that deliver sensationalized personalized and homogenized inconsequential trivia 1 especially when such stories appear at the expense of serious investigative journalism It implies a criticism of the mass media for disseminating news that while not very nourishing is cheap to produce and profitable for media proprietors 1 Meaning editThe term junk food news was first used in print by Carl Jensen in the March 1983 edition of Penthouse As the leader of Project Censored he had frequently faulted the media for ignoring important stories In response says Jensen editors claimed that other stories were more important and bolstered this claim with ad hominem comments directed against him news editors and directors argued that the real issue isn t censorship but rather a difference of opinion as to what information is important to publish or broadcast Editors often point out that there is a finite amount of time and space for news delivery about 23 minutes for a half hour network television evening news program and that it s their responsibility to determine which stories are most critical for the public to hear The critics said I wasn t exploring media censorship but rather I was just another frustrated academic criticizing editorial news judgment 1 To give this argument a fair hearing Jensen decided to conduct a review to determine which stories the media had considered more important But instead of hard hitting investigative journalism what he discovered was the phenomenon that he termed junk food news fell into predictable categories 1 Brand name news celebrity gossip Sex news exposes and sexual titillation Yo yo news statistics that change daily such as stock market numbers and box office totals Show business news movie openings Latest craze news brief fads Anniversary news anniversaries of major events or celebrity deaths Sports news sports rumours Political news bi annual coverage of congressional campaign promises As the flip side to its annual list of the Top 25 Censored Stories Project Censored publishes an annual list of the Top 10 Junk Food News stories compiled by members of the National Organization of News Ombudsmen See also edit nbsp Journalism portalFake news False or misleading information presented as real Hot take also known as Pundit debate and analysis of sports and political news Immediate opinionated commentary on news events Media circus also known as Media hype Phrase describing excessive media coverage Media culture Norms behaviors and artifacts of Western society as shaped by 20th century mass communications Sensationalism Type of editorial tactic used in mass media Soft media also known as soft news Organizations focused on producing infotainmentReferences edit a b c d Jensen Carl 2001 Junk Food News 1877 2000 In Phillips Peter ed Censored 2001 Seven Stories Press pp 251 264 ISBN 978 1 58322 064 1 nbsp This journalism related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Junk food news amp oldid 1153847017, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
