Aug. 8, 2007

We run a front-page photo of a car wreck every week whether we have a car wreck or not". – The Gammy Bird editor Jack Buggit.

Jack Buggit is a fictional character in the E. Annie Proulx book, "The Shipping News," but his practice of finding a car wreck somewhere to picture even if it's not new or local embodies what many believe to be the annoying reflexes of the "bad-news bias" of people in the media who decide which stories will make the headlines.

LeRoy, of Kerrville, Texas, is one of several readers to write in to the homepage team to complain:

"How about doing some coverage of good news, I am so sick and tired of turning on the TV, reading the newspaper and Internet and seeing nothing but bad things happening around the world and at home! Day after day, month after month, year after year, it's the same old thing. Bad news coming at us from all directions. I know there are good things happening around the world."

The MSN homepage team gets regular letters such as the one LeRoy sent, so we feel compelled to explain why. Why isn't more "good news" mixed in with the car wrecks — literal and figurative — the crime and the tales of war and woe.

The truth is, "bad news" is good, and too much good news isn’t. Let me explain.

As Jack Buggit — and you probably — already knew, bad news, scandal, tragedy and mayhem are interesting to people. You could call it the "rubbernecking reflex," familiar to so many who’ve been stuck in traffic jams caused by people slowing down merely to stare at a wreck that doesn't block the roadway.

But that name demeans the true value of “bad news” and the reason that editors and readers alike are so drawn to it. If I had to guess, I’d bet we’re hard wired to pay attention to bad news because it provides cautionary tales about human frailty or flaws, the potential hazards around us. From this, we learn lessons and keep ourselves safe.

What can happen to a beautiful child star who grows up in a troubled family and is the constant focus of an adoring public? What happens when one country invades another to install a democracy and chase out a brutal dictator and things don’t go as planned? What happens when people drink and drive, or take drugs in order to compete in a sport? What happens when a 40-year-old major bridge suddenly collapses and what should it tell us about the tens of thousands of other bridges across the country or the world?

The interest in “bad news” is clear on the Internet, where user interest can be measured almost instantaneously because of Web sites’ ability to know how many people are clicking on any given story at any given time.

So, from a purely business perspective, it might make sense to fill the homepage with bad news, right, since that’s what people click on? Answer: No.

That's because in spite of everything I’ve said above, homepage editors don’t really favor "bad news" any more than they favor "good news." What we look for is news and information that we believe will be deemed either interesting or important for a large number of our readers. And even those decisions go through a filter. And that filter is balance, according to MSN homepage managing editor Don Sena.

"If you do too much 'bad news' then you become local TV news at 11 (which is all mayhem: If it bleeds it leads). I think this is where much of the clamor for more 'good, uplifting' features comes from. If you ignore all bad news and do only uplifting news then you become, well, irrelevant as a media property."

But, when some readers say they’d like to see more “good news,” what are they really asking for? I think they're looking for a reminder that there is good in the world, and not an end to “bad news.”

Leaona in Kalispell, Mont., thinks there should be a special place for inspiring news.

"I would like to see a section entitled, 'All Good News, All the Time.' This would be a place to learn about unsung heroes, people found, good deeds, positive business practices and sound environmental policies. What a relief it would be to have a place to go where we get to see the good side of man kind."

Well, here’s some good news, Leaona: We agree. Stay tuned. MSN is looking to create a place to celebrate the amazing feats, random acts of good will and generally positive side of life.

In the meantime, the surest way to send a message about the kinds of stories you want to read on MSN is to click on them and read them. Like a story? Read it. Don't like a story? Ignore it. You can bet we're paying attention.