Sensationalism

Sensationalism is an editorial bias in mass media in which events and topics in the news over exaggerated.  Sensationalism can be controversial, shocking, attention grabbing, and can be published to attract readers regardless of whether the information is accurate or informative. 

Sensationalism is nothing new.  Mitchell Stephens is a Professor at New York University.  In his book “A History of News” he writes that sensationalism has been around ever since early humans began telling stories, ones that invariably focused on sex and conflict.

Journalists, however don't need to fall victim to using sensationalism in their work.  A well written title and lead can get enough attention if the event or issue is in fact significant or interesting.  I feel journalists need to build their reputations around the quality of their writing.  If they develop a good reputation based on their work then they don't have to worry about using sensationalism to grab reader's attention.

Even though Journalists don't need to use sensationalism to get readers, sensationalism is still a tool that works in getting people's attention.  We experience sensationalism everyday whether we notice it or not.  Whether it is your friend telling you about their date last night, or you find yourself telling your parents about how swamped you are with school, we all fall victim to sensationalism.  When we are telling people information it's natural to want to make it sound as exciting and interesting as possible to get the attention of our audience.