What if Politics Were Covered like Sports?
by Will Blakely
The other morning I was at the gym running and noticed that out of the eight televisions that were setup in front of the cardio equipment, I think four of them were all playing similar programming. Now, you would think that with the condition the country is in, they would have at least one television on a news network. Instead, there were four different televisions all turned to sports. I know it’s a gym and athletics are kind of their thing but four TV’s with basically the same thing? In all honesty though, it got me thinking. What if news media outlets were forced to broadcast their programming like a sports game?
The first reason that sports broadcasts are better than our current political ones are that no matter how many different networks are covering a game, there is no real way to play a bias towards one side. The hometown broadcast may favor their team a little more but it will not affect the outcome of the event. The goal for them is to, plain and simple, broadcast the game and not try to show some hidden agenda that the producers think is more important. Whether you are a fan of the home or the visiting team you are still able to watch any of the broadcasts and see the same game, heck you could even watch the game with a rival fan and not have to worry about the channels bias towards one side.
Secondly, the statistics that are shown during the game are the plain black and white facts, no gray area’s or people’s opinion. If a baseball player goes 0 for 4 that day with 4 strikeouts, the lower third on the bottom of the screen is going to say “Joe Schmo went 0 for 4 today with 4 strikeouts,” clear and to the point. Imagine if there was a producer who just happened to like that player and didn’t want to make them look bad that day? It might read something like this “Joe’s day wasn’t as successful as he would’ve liked it to have been. But let us keep in mind that it was unusually hot out there today and he was just getting over a fever, etc, etc, etc.” You get the point- fans want stats not stories.
A third reason why sports broadcasts are great is because they don’t care who the player is or what team they play for, they cover them good or bad. Whether someone is having the day of their life or they look more pathetic than a third string junior varsity player the camera is still going to be on them and the commentators will still be talking about them. The media doesn’t shield them because they are having a bad day. It is also common that more time will be spent on the good of the game rather then the bad. Imagine if political coverage actually covered the good things Washington does (hold on let me chuckle for a second, ok I’m done) rather than the smearing that is constantly going on? I’m sure a lot of these lifetime politicians wouldn’t still be there. Similar to sports stars; if you perform you stay, if you don’t you’re gone.
I know it sounds a little funny to compare broadcasting politics to sports but in essence it would make for a smarter America. Instead of having to flip through different news channels to see the same story and then determine what the station’s agenda is, you should be able to turn to any one of them and get the truth in clear facts. I can only imagine some of the headlines of what is really happening in Washington these days.
The other morning I was at the gym running and noticed that out of the eight televisions that were setup in front of the cardio equipment, I think four of them were all playing similar programming. Now, you would think that with the condition the country is in, they would have at least one television on a news network. Instead, there were four different televisions all turned to sports. I know it’s a gym and athletics are kind of their thing but four TV’s with basically the same thing? In all honesty though, it got me thinking. What if news media outlets were forced to broadcast their programming like a sports game?
The first reason that sports broadcasts are better than our current political ones are that no matter how many different networks are covering a game, there is no real way to play a bias towards one side. The hometown broadcast may favor their team a little more but it will not affect the outcome of the event. The goal for them is to, plain and simple, broadcast the game and not try to show some hidden agenda that the producers think is more important. Whether you are a fan of the home or the visiting team you are still able to watch any of the broadcasts and see the same game, heck you could even watch the game with a rival fan and not have to worry about the channels bias towards one side.
Secondly, the statistics that are shown during the game are the plain black and white facts, no gray area’s or people’s opinion. If a baseball player goes 0 for 4 that day with 4 strikeouts, the lower third on the bottom of the screen is going to say “Joe Schmo went 0 for 4 today with 4 strikeouts,” clear and to the point. Imagine if there was a producer who just happened to like that player and didn’t want to make them look bad that day? It might read something like this “Joe’s day wasn’t as successful as he would’ve liked it to have been. But let us keep in mind that it was unusually hot out there today and he was just getting over a fever, etc, etc, etc.” You get the point- fans want stats not stories.
A third reason why sports broadcasts are great is because they don’t care who the player is or what team they play for, they cover them good or bad. Whether someone is having the day of their life or they look more pathetic than a third string junior varsity player the camera is still going to be on them and the commentators will still be talking about them. The media doesn’t shield them because they are having a bad day. It is also common that more time will be spent on the good of the game rather then the bad. Imagine if political coverage actually covered the good things Washington does (hold on let me chuckle for a second, ok I’m done) rather than the smearing that is constantly going on? I’m sure a lot of these lifetime politicians wouldn’t still be there. Similar to sports stars; if you perform you stay, if you don’t you’re gone.
I know it sounds a little funny to compare broadcasting politics to sports but in essence it would make for a smarter America. Instead of having to flip through different news channels to see the same story and then determine what the station’s agenda is, you should be able to turn to any one of them and get the truth in clear facts. I can only imagine some of the headlines of what is really happening in Washington these days.