What Kind Of News Do You REALLY Want To Hear About?

Seems everyone has a problem with “bad” news. Shootings, car accidents, robberies… What’s going on around you? Some of you would rather not hear about it and be ignorant/blind or lied to about the conditions of your community. Others think the truth gives our community ‘a bad reputation.’

Fine, so you want to walk around with rose-colored glasses all the time and fascinate yourself with updates that have NOTHING to do with the real world. I’m talking about celebrity gossip, scams and sleaze, meaningless lawsuits and national/international events that take your mind off of what’s going on down your block.

I’m going to assume most people would rather read the New York Post’s Page 6 – where you can disillusion yourself with other people’s drama. We have plenty of good news to report to the community, which many seem to ignore, but small acts of kindness aren’t appreciated by the masses.

What kind of news is in demand? For the most part, from my experience, it’s crap that doesn’t affect anyone personally and it’s nonsense that takes away from the reality of criminal and dangerous activity that needs to be in the spotlight.

Let’s get real! If it weren’t for REAL local news, from community papers like the Canarsie Courier, you’d drown in distractions like the following (which people love to obsess over – because it truly is, in their eyes, “news”)

Oh No!

TV Shows: If ALL you do is base your life on reality/drama shows and how you “can’t believe” what so-and-so did on a certain series, you need to wake up. One minute you’re watching “Sister Wives” and then next minute you find that your wallet was stolen while you’re riding the train because you chose not to be vigilant of real-world going-ons. I’m not saying that all people who watch “Duck Dynasty” have their heads buried in the sand, but you need to balance your general knowledge with more complicated matters – like where a fatal hitand run accident happened in your community – so that you can be educated and aware of your surroundings. Don’t care? Let Honey Boo Boo teach you the ins and outs of crime prevention!

Kim Kardashian’s divorce: Hasn’t happened – YET – but celebrity break-ups and divorces aren’t any different from normal people’s divorces. They’re just richer than we are and have more assets to divide! These “disastrous” stories make page 3 of the Daily News and the Post, as if this breaking information will personally change someone’s life. I can see a pathetic single woman who keeps up with the Kardashians saying, “If there’s no hope for Kim, what will I do?!!” All of a sudden - because someone famous gets a divorce – the little people make a big stink as if THEIR lives have changed! Then, the media (excluding our fine publication) hypes it up even more by psychoanalyzing why and how famous couples’ turmoil reflects the way normal people experience a divorce. THIS ISN’T NEWS! Couples have been breaking up and getting divorces for centuries! What it really is is a diversion from more serious issues going on in our small communities with real families who are struggling to make ends meet.

What’s going on on Facebook/Instagram: We’re living in an age where we’re more consumed with what’s on social media and posting ‘selfies’ every day/hour than following feeds on local tragedies. Maybe you’ve seen a potential suspect in your local bodega! You’ll never know because, instead of paying attention to surveillance footage and wanted posters that are broadcast on serious news feeds, you’re busy telling everyone your business every hour of the day – which is NOT news! As a reporter, however, I use Facebook to keep abreast of news feeds from other media, which post incidents as they happen. Some people use Facebook as a political soapbox, which is a hell of a lot more creative than letting people know you have a huge boil that needs to be drained next week. Those who indulge in political banter enjoy controversy and want to stir things up instead of running for some public office so they can change the system they’re complaining about. Go ahead – you love to exercise your freedom of speech and your opinion is going to offend a few people on your friends list. But NO – most of you probably won’t actually get involved in local civics and you don’t have the money to run for city council or assembly to influence the change that you’re complaining about. Feel free to stay behind the computer – you’re definitely safe from having to do real campaigning for a purpose!

Whether you’re distracted by a YouTube video of someone farting so loud and powerfully that they blew the plastic cutlery off of the backyard picnic table, or you’re obsessing over the Royal Family’s baby, who you’ll probably never get to touch, you might be part of a dumbed-down society who frowns on REAL news.

Sure, if you don’t like what you see or hear, you can choose to shut it out. And sure, the ignorant people will say “How could something like this happen in our community?” when the world has always revolved no matter how much horrible news takes place. You have no one to blame but yourself when you’re uninformed or misinformed. Oh, yes, I’m sure toiling over an article like “Twelve Celebrities You Didn’t Know Were Asian” yields more useful information than “Shootings Up Precinct-Wide.” Happy reading!

Originally published in Canarsie Courier newspaper