I agree. I’m in the Uk and I’ve almost completely given up on the BBC news reporting. Every bulletin starts with a few minutes with facts and figures, then we inevitably go into a sob story, finding someone who has just lost someone to the virus, focus on the emotional side of the way they are coping with it, and probing with more and more questions until the person breaks down in tears. Weeping appears to be an essential qualification! It’s emotional vampirism, really ghoulish.
Ah yes, “create some human involvement to care about”. Because one person’s experience is something you may want to react to, as opposed to reading some factual data which you will just check as “so noted”. It’s a longstanding view and valid strategy in mass communication to create engagement, but yes, it has been too often abused as a crutch.
And of course, let’s all remember ABC Sports’ Up Close And Personal segments, started back in the early 70s. Because it’s not enough to see how that dude can run, jump and throw like a friggin’ superhero, we want you to feel he’s part of your household and be crushed and mad when they scratch in the semifinals.