LONDON - Gloomy news is bad for your emotional health, according to the first scientific study into the effect of TV news reports.
The findings confirm what has long been suspected that, broadcasts of reports of famine, violence, poverty and crime leave viewers considerably more depressed than do happy stories of Lottery winners and "miracle" recoveries.
The research, conducted at the University of Sussex and published in the current British Journal of Psychology, involved three groups of people being shown one of three different types of news bulletin negative, positive or neutral.
All three groups were in similar emotional states before the 15 minute broadcasts, but afterwards their moods varied with the people who saw the negative bulletins showing considerably more anxiety than the others.
Psychologist, Prof Graham Davey, who conducted the study with colleague, Dr Wendy Johnston, said: "We found that negatively balanced material does change people's moods in a negative way, and this could have other knock on effects, such as making people worry more about their own problems."