Most of my friends equate the word negativism with newspapers.

Everyday, people are bombarded with bad news. Everyday newspaper personnel follow up leads so they can meet their deadline that passed 10 minutes ago in order to get something in the morning edition about an explosion in the Middle East, a drug assisination in South America or the house that caught on fire across the street.

Newspapers cover these incidents because it’s their job. And the only reason it is part of their job is because people want to read about death, destruction and blood, in addition to the comics and sports.

The media in general reflects the society as a whole. Newspapers print what their consumers want in return for a subscription or a newsstand sale.

As consumers, if you do not purchase what we are selling, common sense tells you we will change.

The media is a business, just like any other. Newspapers print the news their readers want so they can persuade advertisers with circulation numbers, in order to make money so they can hire personnel to write stories that interest readers.

It’s a viscious circle. Everyday newspapers must explain to people why which stories ran where. Everyday someone calls a newspaper complaining that they’re anti-this or that. Complaints are part of the business of newspapers and negativism.

It is also hypocritical. The other day I reported about an accident near the Chick Evans Field House—luckily, it wasn’t too serious. While there, my companion and I endured riducule and general vulgar comments by students returning from classes for covering the incident.

And that’s fine. That stuff is part of the job—no matter how much you want to reach across and choke the living daylights out of that special someone who has made the decision that he is better than you are because your professional interests are different. Learning to deal with that insecurity now doesn’t prepare you for the amount you will get after graduation, but it offers a taste.

The worst part is that the same people who believe there is too much negativism in media are usually the same people who habitually follow television shows filled with blood and violence.

The same line of reasoning can be applied to athletics. A lot of predictions were made by the student body about the NIU vs. Nebraska game this weekend. Columns were written in area newpapers, including the Rockford Register Star, commenting on the quality direction the football program is heading but honestly assessing the chances of an upset. Newspapers did this because it was a big game, and its readers demanded the coverage.

The difference in the comments is simply this: newspaper personnel are stupid/brave enough to put their’s in writing for thousands of people to see while others do not. It doesn’t matter the event, it only matters the topic.

So the next time you get your ire up about all of the negative things that are being covered in the newspapers, remember that the print you are reading wouldn’t be there if there wasn’t a market for it.

If you want to change the negativism that is eternally going around, look to your neighbor first. If enough people do that, the newspaper will cover it, and will change.