When good news becomes news, that's bad news.

[OilemFirchen]

That admonition from a former J-School prof left a lasting impression on me some forty-odd years ago.

I repeat it often in conversation and it's usually met with a dumbfounded cock of the head. Put less simply, it advises us that news is that which is out of the ordinary. Thus, if good news is noteworthy, we've reached a point where bad news is the norm. Were the media to fill front pages with the names of everyone not murdered that day, every house that didn't burn down and every politician not embroiled in scandal, it would be a benchmark that we've entered a dystopia.

That said, there are instances when "good" news is worthy of reporting. A business opening, for example, may not necessarily indicate that the economy is so desperate that said event is rare - rather, it may show that the economy is doing well and that new enterprises are a result. It's only in the first case that the axiom is true. It's the difference between "Yet another new restaurant opens in the area." vs. "Finally! A new restaurant in town!".

When the President of the United States suggests that we need more reporting of good news, it's either an indication that he's terribly naive, doesn't understand the media's role in society, or that he's suggesting that our country's gone to rot. I submit that, in the case of the current occupant, it's all three.

For the rest of us, be comforted by our daily headlines, with the stray homicide, the unfortunate house fire and the novelty of corruption. While it doesn't mean that all is well, it's evidence that more is well than not. Which is, in fact, good news.

[marked50]

1. Sort of the same as

No News is Good News?

[OilemFirchen]

2. Perhaps.

Imagine your local paper deciding that it would only report births, and no longer obituaries. Not because there are no deaths, but because people dropping like flies is the norm, and the rare birth the exception. In that case, no news is seriously bad news.

But generally no news is great news.

[shraby]

3. Like when you go to the mailbox and there's no mail. That also means there are no bills to deal with

[ProudLib72]

4. I put it to you that you would not notice the change

For instance, a day or so ago someone posted a story about a bus driver leaving her bus to help an elderly man over the snow and onto the bus. Everyone commenting on the story said it was wonderful. I didn't think it was wonderful for exactly the same reason you wrote this OP. I don't know if I commented on it or left it alone, but I remember wanting to say something like, "This should be the norm. This is how people are supposed to behave."

So there is already evidence that good news is becoming news, and the reaction to that good news makes me want to