Michael Bass: Media Should Cover More Religion, Africa News, And Good News

Michael Bass, senior executive producer of CBS’s Early Show, says the media should do a better job covering religion and Africa. “But my biggest concern is that we don’t do enough GOOD NEWS,” he says on the Public Eye blog. “Too often, we report one negative story after another. Too often, we report on tragedy, rather than triumph. Too often, we focus on the horrific, rather than the heroes.”

“I think one of the reasons that many have a poor perception of the media is that they think we’re too negative,” he continues. “I think they’re right. So on The Early Show, we’ve made a special effort to work on that. We certainly don’t shy away from the tough stories; our most important objective is to comprehensively report the news of the day, bad or good. But we’ve tried to make sure we mix in positive stories — of inspiration, of kindness, of courage, of heroism — on a daily basis. Not just because we’re a morning show. But because good news is important too.”