2025 World News Day: Inadvisability Of Calling Flattery News -By Isaac Asabor

Today, the world celebrates World News Day; a day dedicated to honoring the profession that informs, challenges, and sometimes unsettles us. Yet, the celebration also compels a critical question: do we even know what news is anymore? Or have we allowed perception, comfort, and favoritism to distort the very essence of journalism?

Let us face it: the average person’s understanding of news is often shallow. A journalist reports verifiable facts that expose wrongdoing, corruption, or societal failures, and the story is labeled an “attack.” But present the same facts sprinkled with compliments, praise, or flowery words, and suddenly it is hailed as “newsworthy.” What a convenient paradox! Facts that threaten comfort are condemned; facts that soothe egos are celebrated. This is not journalism, it is pandering. And the public, willingly or unknowingly, enables it.

As a trained journalist, I have never been taught that flattery equals news. News is truth, plain and unvarnished. It is the reporting of reality, not the spinning of narratives to make powerful people feel good. Praise has its place, yes, in features, in opinion pieces, or in analyses where context allows for celebration of achievements. Even then, any commendation must be rooted in verifiable reality, not rumor, favoritism, or political expediency.

Yet today, many media outlets operate on a different logic. News is “acceptable” only when it pleases someone, usually those in power. Investigative reports are softened, critical exposures are buried, and trivial stories about celebratory events dominate headlines. Meanwhile, society is left misinformed, manipulated, and comforted with illusions. This is the true danger: when the public equates agreeable stories with truth, the watchdog function of journalism is lost, and democracy itself is weakened.

World News Day is not a celebration of pleasing narratives; it is a call to honor the courage, integrity, and persistence of those who deliver facts without fear or favor. Around the globe, journalists risk imprisonment, harassment, and even their lives to report the truth. In countries with oppressive regimes, every factual story becomes an act of bravery. Yet, ironically, in supposedly “free” societies, we allow the public’s taste for flattery to define what counts as news. That is a moral and intellectual failure.

The problem is compounded by social media and the 24-hour news cycle. Sensationalism, click-bait, and popularity contests now determine what stories get attention. A puff piece praising a politician will trend faster than an investigative report exposing corruption. Likes and shares replace verification and rigor as the metrics of journalistic value. Reality is being edited for convenience, and society suffers as a result.

Let us also confront the uncomfortable truth: the public often prefers comforting lies over uncomfortable facts. People react defensively to reporting that challenges their assumptions or exposes inconvenient truths. Rather than engage with the substance of a report, many attack the journalist personally or dismiss the story as biased. This behavior undermines journalism, encourages self-censorship, and allows abuses of power to flourish unchecked. The lesson is brutal but simple: facts are often unpopular, but that does not make them any less necessary.

World News Day should remind us that journalism is a sacred duty, not a popularity contest. News is not about approval; it is about accountability. When journalists report what is, regardless of the discomfort it may cause, they uphold the public’s right to know. Praise, commendation, or approval should never dictate coverage. To conflate popularity with truth is to weaken the very foundation of informed society.

Let us also call out media organizations that prioritize flattering narratives over hard reporting. These institutions claim to be pillars of information, yet they pander to elites and appease public sentiment. They produce content that feels good rather than content that matters. This is a betrayal of the profession, a betrayal of the public, and a betrayal of the very idea of democracy. As today is World News Day, henceforth, such behavior must be criticized openly and without apology.

And make no mistake: this is not just about high-profile politics or sensational scandals. It permeates every aspect of news reporting, from business to health to culture. A report on economic mismanagement or environmental degradation will often be ignored if it threatens convenience or comfort, while trivial celebrity gossip floods front pages. The hierarchy of news has been inverted. Comfort is king; truth is subordinate.

World News Day is a challenge to society itself. It calls on the public to distinguish between reporting and rhetoric, between truth and convenience. It demands that we reward integrity, accuracy, and courage, not flattery. It reminds journalists to resist the pressures of spin, popularity, and personal bias. It reminds media consumers that liking a story does not make it accurate and that disliking it does not make it false.

The celebration also offers hope. World News Day can inspire renewed commitment to journalistic principles: accuracy, fairness, clarity, and courage. It can inspire critical thinking, media literacy, and public accountability. And it can remind us that true journalism is indispensable, not only for uncovering wrongdoing but for shaping a society that values truth over comfort, fact over fiction, and accountability over appeasement.

So, on this World News Day, let us honor the profession in its purest form. Celebrate the journalists who report facts even when unpopular, who face danger without flinching, and who challenge society to confront uncomfortable realities. Reject the notion that news is praise. Reject the idea that popularity defines veracity. And most importantly, let us reaffirm that the mission of journalism is not to comfort the comfortable, but to illuminate the truth, always, unapologetically, and without fear. Most importantly, in exercising the forgoing journalistic duties, it should not be mistaken to be an attack.

Truth is news. Facts are news. Courage is news. And on this World News Day, we must recommit to these principles, for the good of society, for the protection of democracy, and for the honor of journalism itself. Anything less is flattery masquerading as news, and that is a betrayal we can no longer afford.