News is nothing but entertainment

Never forget that. People watch the news in order to have the illusion of being informed; they are not actually given accurate, useful information. Shows like Dateline purport to uncover dark secrets, but only play on people's fears and ignorance. When reality is too dull, the media will create their own, more interesting fictions and present them as fact.

Mark Twain summed it up nicely: "If you don't read the newspapers, you are uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you are misinformed". Nothing has changed in the 100 years since he wrote that, other than the format in which the lies are presented.