Harmony Seldom Makes the Headlines

Often, in today's society, the news that we see being broadcast or articles we read in the newspapers are about discord and war. Harmony is said to be a synonym of peace and people living in racial or religious tolerance of one another. This notion of harmony, in today's world of war and discord, is often a rare phenomenon. Newsmakers today often work for profit, rather than to promote harmony. This often prompts newsmakers to report about discord and injustices, as such news are more appealing to the public, for news about harmony is often viewed as bland and overrated.

Harmony cannot be sensationalized. This is one main reason why newsmakers tend to strike off news of peace and harmony from their agenda. Today, newsmakers are often driven by economics. They often seek to publish news that appeal to the public. News on discord and war is thus often sensationalized, appealing to our senses and emotions. Tragedy and injustice make us passionate and furious, and tend to make better stories than harmony and 'happily-ever-after' tales. Take this year's Beijing Olympics for example. For the past few days, or even weeks, reports in The Straits Times and many Western newspapers are about protests worldwide and even in China itself. We read about terrorism in Xinjiang, protests against Chinese policies and how the Chinese police use violence on the public and even tourists. Many seem to have forgotten that the Olympics is about peace and harmony, and the Beijing Games seem to be a platform for newsmakers to compete to sensationalize such news of discord and injustice. Headliners, especially, are often sensationalized reports on tragedy and discord. Thus, due to increased competition among newsmakers worldwide, harmony is seldom the main focus of news in today's society.

For the sake of ambition, journalists often chase after sensational news, so that they can achieve fame and popularity. Such news that can cause uproars among the public and spark off discussion is often controversial news, and controversy is never about harmony and peace. Even photojournalists seek to capture images that powerfully convey a sense of discord and tension. Just look at Time's Top Ten Photographs of the Year. Almost all the photographs that made it to the list are about underlying tension, unease and discord. Popularity of news is often unfortunately associated with tragedy and tension, and this prompts journalists more of these news to feed the growing demand among the public and to give themselves a better chance of promotion or even winning awards. Very seldom do journalists actually write or report on harmony, and even if they do, these reports are often cast aside by editors to make room for 'better' news, or in other words, sensationalized stories of war and discord worldwide. Thus, harmony is seldom headlined in today's newsmaking companies.

However, newspapers may occasionally feature news on harmony, especially when these are pro-government newspapers. The state would often use these newspapers as tools of propaganda and to ensure social and political stability within the country. For example, The Straits Times, the main newspaper in Singapore, is evidently pro-government. Thus we often read about the harmony of our multiracial community and these sentiments are often subtly embedded into certain news that involves government policies of have some form of government agenda. In this case, there may be times when such news may actually hit the headlines, for in assuring the public that our citizens are all living harmoniously with one another, any underlying racial or religious tensions may be softened. People will also tend to feel more satisfied with the government. This enables the society to live in social and political stability. Not only do pro-government news companies promote harmony within the country, but government censorship is also common to remove news that the State deems as a threat to stability. Such news is often of racial or religious discord within the country, or similar news that would stir up similar sentiments that may be detrimental to the stability of the country. Such form of government censorship is common in many countries, especially in East Asia and Southeast Asia where governments generally do not allow as much press freedom as Western countries. Thus, in this case, harmony may be headlined and discord abandoned in certain newspapers for the purpose of maintaining social and political stability.

As for the notion of discord being popular newsmaking material instead of harmony, there may be journalists who report about discord and injustice simply to show the degeneration of our society. These journalists see themselves as helping to remove the injustices in our society. By writing these stories, journalists seek to improve the condition of our society by stirring up certain feelings among people, so that communities can become more united and take action to rid society of such injustice. An example is Chinese citizen journalist Zhou Shuguang, who reported on his blog news of injustice that Chinese authorities inflict upon the people, thus drawing many readers' attention. This publicity caused the authorities to settle the disputes peacefully with the victims. In this case, as these journalists seek to report on injustices to improve the condition of society, there is more motivation for them to write about discord rather than harmony. Thus, harmony is brushed aside for the sake of drawing readers' attention to disharmony instead.

From these various economic, political and social reasons, I conclude that harmony is seldom the spotlight in news worldwide, for harmony is not only often rare in today's discord-torn society, but also often undervalued in the newsroom.