Media's Short Attention Span

One of the most disturbing things about media is the portrayal of significant events as fleeting moments to get amped up about for a split second, and then forget about.  Media outlets appeal to people's short attention spans by giving accounts of certain events, and then not ever mentioning them again.

A perfect example of this is the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping.  276 Nigerian girls were kidnapped from the Government Secondary School five years ago.  Many people will remember that this was a big deal for about a week.  It was probably replaced by something equally exciting that also got people "worried" for two seconds.  Five years later, and 112 girls are still missing, probably getting systemically brutalized daily.  Despite its ongoing seriousness, a complete coverage of this has not really been cycled back into the constantly-changing compilation of "sensational" news stories.  Our temporary concern is a problem.  We are so wrapped up and absorbed in what the media throws at us that we do not treat each issue with genuine concern and prolonged care.  Sure, you could claim that you are actually worried about the Chibok girls, or whatever news story excites you the most.  But how many times did you follow up?  Now, I'm not saying that I do follow up with significant news stories.  I, too, get caught up with the fast-paced cycle of news stories and the fleeting nature of how they are portrayed.

What it really comes down to is that media treats awful events such as the Chibok kidnapping as something that's new and exciting.  The novelty of these tragic events gets boring, so they cover another story that people will find compelling as well.  Media needs to continuously follow up with these events, instead of writing a few articles and then leaving them in the past.