PNC (I)

The much-maligned (though not by this corner) website redesign over at the Ministry of Truth (Provincial) comes with an interesting and useful new feature: a top-ten list.

Here, as of late on Friday, are the top ten most popular stories on VOCM. (It is not specified whether the top ten are sorted in any kind of objective order, so don’t conclude anything from the sequence.)

Boy Dies After Pool Accident
Mount Pearl Resident Dies in Accident
Bicyclist Dies
Investigation Continues in Carbonear Shooting
Central Man Killed In Moose Accident
Amelia Engram Passes Away
Woman Unable to Get Medical Attention
Atlantic Vision Hits a Snag
Pilot Survives Plane Crash Near Wabush
Minimum Wage Set to Rise

The first six on the list unfortunately all involve deaths. The seventh involves an “unable”. The eighth is a “snag”.

Similarly, over at the Ministry of Truth (Federal), the most viewed stories are (in no obviously particular order):

Toddler drowns in pool in Conception Bay South
Only N.L. gained jobs in June
Dad accused of shaking baby opts for jury trial
St. John's bans outdoor water use
N.L. health minister faces conflict of interest concerns
Controversial minister loses health portfolio in N.L. cabinet shuffle
St. John's bike plan gets $1.6M boost from province
Drunk driver's licence yanked for 99 years
Gros Morne transmission line draws more criticism

Another tragic death story, crime, a ban, a loss, and more criticism.

The three most-recommend at CBC (with number of recommendations) are:

Toddler drowns in pool in Conception Bay South 85
149-kg halibut caught in western N.L. 42
Dad accused of shaking baby opts for jury trial 18
Grand Falls-Windsor gets $4M from province 2
Landscaper feels unfairly targeted by water ban 1

Tragic death, crime, unfairness.

And the most-commented (with number of comments) are:

Williams willing to risk Gros Morne's UNESCO status 115
Controversial minister loses health portfolio in N.L. cabinet shuffle 77
St. John's bans outdoor water use 76
149-kg halibut caught in western N.L. 66
Toddler drowns in pool in Conception Bay South 57
N.L. moose awareness campaign works, says environment minister 51
St. John's brewer heads campaign vs. foreign brands 49
St. John's lockup guard found guilty of assault 39
Gros Morne transmission line draws more criticism 28
St. John's bike plan gets $1.6M boost from province 25

A risk, a loss, a ban, a tragic death, crime, and criticism.

Going back to the VOCM list, only two stories are positive, and the plane crash is a good-news-out-of bad-news story. The CBC most-viewed list has one happy government announcement story, and one very misleading, but positive, headline. (NL is not, in fact, the only province to have posted job gains; someone needs to re-read The Daily.)

Of the CBC most-recommended stories, there’s one upbeat happy government announcement, and a story about a giant fish. More than 70% of the recommendations are for downbeat – dare we say, “negative” – news stories. Much the same picture obtains with regards to commentary, where two thirds of the comments on the most-commented local news stories are on stories whose headlines have some negative aspect.

As Meeker on Media has noted, the press thrives on “negative” news, and for good reason:

Every story must contain conflict. And that conflict was broken down into three sub-groups: man against man, man against nature, and man against himself. I knew this to be true in fiction, but it was a revelation to realize it applied equally to the real world; to news.

Pick up any newspaper, or tune into any news broadcast. Think about the stories. Most often, it’s man against man – one person or group against another person or group. From civilized debate to all-out war.

Now, thanks to the intertubes and the press’s new-found love of “social media” gimmicks, we can gauge not just the press’s interests, but also the public’s taste, at least somewhat quantitatively. The public loves bad news. Well, not the events themselves – generally speaking, the public doesn’t like it when other people die in tragic (or any other kind) of circumstances – but the public has a very strong appetite for the sad, the controversial, the negative, the conflict.

The happy and upbeat? Not so much.

More on that in Part II.