Lately with the awakening of news on social media, I have noticed more the dramatization of the news on television. It took me a while to notice since I don’t usually watch the news, but recently when CNN was talking about the potential violence Russia could inflict on Ukraine, I was shocked by the mass of photos and videos that were displayed on the screen. Hundreds of tanks firing massive missiles to the words of a CNN reporter claiming Biden was “putting Russia on blast.” This quote may be taken out of context, as my attention was instead drawn to these intense clips of warfare. The reporter even said, “The drumbeat of war seems to be growing louder,” an intense choice of words that suggests war is inevitable. Visuals in news definitely are for a specific target audience. Just a week ago when CNN was on TV again, I questioned the photos of random prescription pills that popped up when the reporter spoke about the ongoing opioid crisis. I brought this topic up to my brother, who made a good point in saying dramatic visuals and stressful vocabulary is a reason many people don’t watch the news. Just the few minutes of CNN I saw were quite stressful, it makes podcasts and news articles seem calming in comparison.
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Photo used in one of CNN’s posts: https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/14/europe/russia-ukraine-troops-social-media-video-intl/index.html
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