WSJ: 10 Disturbing Trends in Mass Media

Authored by Robert Spears on December 11, 2006 - 6:11am.

Here is a list of ten trends identified and discussed by Peter R. Kann, Chairman of Dow Jones, in his essay titled "The Media Is in the Need of Some Mending", from the editiorial pages of today’s Wall Street Journal:

The blurring of the lines between journalism and entertainment.
The blurring of lines between news and opinion.
The blending of news and advertising, sponsorships or other commercial relationships.
The problems and pitfalls inherent in pack journalism.
The issue of conflict and context.
The exaggerated tendency toward pessimism.
The growing media fascination with the bizarre, the perverse and the pathological -- John Mark Karr journalism.
Social orthodoxy, or political correctness.
The media's short attention span.
The matter of [the media’s] power.