Archived Bulletins
May 2002
THERE'S NO NEWS LIKE BAD NEWS
By Mark Poynter
Lecturer
David Ampofo is the Executive Director of Channel Two and hosts a hard-hitting, and at times, controversial talk show 'Time with David'. Having completed a Masters Degree in Journalism, David has traveled extensively and lived for a number of years in Cuba. His thirst for knowledge and interest in current affairs makes him a determined investigator, whose formidable style of interviewing is often characterized by a sense of drama and lively debate.
David Ampofo's candid talk about the power and influence of the news media provided students with a thought provoking discussion during a seminar for the Text and Meaning course. The basis of David's presentation was to establish the extent to which we are manipulated by authorial intent. Through the course of his discussion David argued that emotion, fear and ignorance are often far more powerful agents of interpretation than rational objective thought.
David challenged students to consider the extent to which newspapers can be considered as a reliable source of information. With our insatiable desire to be entertained, David argued, we often place speculation and innuendo above defensible objective fact. Through an engaging discussion students came to the conclusion that what makes headline news can often be determined more by the desires of the readership than the reporting of actual events.
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