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Between Content and Cognition: On the Impossibility of Television News

The main thesis of this article is that television news represents one of the most difficult and complex media stimuli that people face towards the end of the twentieth century. It is suggested that this is due to the combined interaction effects of the content of the news items and the inherent cognitive limitations of viewers. It argues that the way reporters, editors and newscasters present the news makes it extremely difficult, if not often impossible, for the average citizen to follow, cope with, make sense of internalize and utilize much of the information contained in the news. The paper suggests that current trends in television news production tend to increase these difficulties. Growing numbers of news-producing stations lead to increased competition and the pursuit of ratings, often resulting in lower quality supervision and editorial control in the newsroom. This trend prompts many services to produce MTV-clip-style programming, which further inhibits the audience's ability to follow what is happening on the screen. The article suggests that the changing worldwide geopolitical conditions have increased the repertoire of potentially complicated news items. It argues that globalization coupled with advanced telecommunications technology have broadened the scope of news thereby increasing the need of viewers to cope with more concepts, issues, names, places and processes well beyond those traditionally presented in the national or local context.