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What is newsworthy?
We are two weeks into the first positive diagnosis for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in one cow in the United States. Consumer confidence in beef is less tainted than the information coming from so-called "news" networks. CNN was recommending that you switch to venison as a protein source last weekend. They use very graphic visuals to sell their point of view; yes I said "sell" their point of view.
If you look up the definition of "news" on Webster's online dictionary, one of the definitions is "material reported in a newspaper or news periodical or on a newscast." This doesn't mention anything about the credibility or reliability of what is said.
During the holidays, I had a chance to spend time with my 85-year-old grandfather who spends a great deal of time in front of the television set soaking up all this "news." I shuttled my wife's 92-year-old great aunt home after our Christmas celebration and heard some of the same sound bytes from both of them. They have never met and they live 500 miles apart. What is the common denominator--television "news."
I have done several national radio interviews in the past two weeks and each time I could sense the host attempting to hype this issue from one cow into a great looming fear of human devastation. In all of history, 153 people have contracted variant Cruetzfeld-Jakob Disease with zero proof that it came from eating beef.
News should not be a marketing game. Networks seem to be manufacturing "news" problems rather than looking for solutions. Despite these network barricades, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the beef industry have held strong in getting the word out to the American consumer about the true risks of beef consumption. The American consumer's confidence in the safety of beef has not wavered. Most fast food establishments reported no decline in hamburger consumption in the first week of the new year.
Incidentally, a CNN-Time poll suggested that one-fourth of the U.S. consumers had concerns about the safety of the beef supply. If you read the whole report, you would learn that nearly 10 percent of the 1004 people surveyed didn't consume beef prior to Dec. 23. Only seven percent said they had drastically altered their consumption of beef due to BSE. Furthermore, with a three percent margin of error, the actual numbers may indicate that only four percent of Americans have altered their consumption of beef because of the BSE incident.
If the news media's constant onslaught of scare tactics about BSE and a contaminated beef supply, complete with visuals of staggering cows and hospital patients, didn't sway the perception of television's viewing audience, then perhaps even the public considers these continuous "news" networks to be a source of entertainment rather than a source of information.
A network that was actually interested in educating their viewing audience would be telling them about the real risk to consumers as the Seattle Times did on Jan. 4, 2004. Since Dec. 23, one million Americans have suffered some level of food poisoning. Six thousand of those were sickened to the point of hospitalization and, unfortunately, 100 have died. A true news network would identify real threats to human life and provide real solutions rather than what appears to be "selling" their agenda.
How often do you hear the Center of Disease Control statistics that 97 percent of food-borne illnesses are traceable to improper food handling at home or in a restaurant and not something that happened on the farm or in the food production chain? Does CNN report that 74,000 cases of salmonella occur annually in the United States from reptiles kept as pets?
It is high time networks that want to be considered newsworthy report on issues that truly affect human life. They should quit planting seeds of fear in the minds of their viewers because most Americans recognize that if you see it on TV, it is probably just another staged reality show.
As a new year's resolution, make it your responsibility to contact any news source that attempts to mislead the public about our industry and let them know what the real facts are. It's time we separate news from entertainment!
Editor's note: Trent Loos is a sixth generation farmer who wants to bridge the gap from agriculture producers and consumers. In addition to this column, he can be heard daily on his radio program by the same name. Trent can be reached via his website at www.loostales.com or e-mail at trent@loostales.com.
Date: 1/8/04
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