Criticism of TV News

Here's a link (http://gavindebecker.com/resources/article/media_fear_tactics/) to commentary on media fear tactics used in TV news. Gavin de Becker is an expert on predicting and managing violence. His main criticism of TV news is that events are sensationalized--sometimes to the point of ridiculousness. I find TV news all too often presents events, though they may be important, in an upsetting way without giving a way to do anything about them. Being aware of sensationalism tactics can help viewers get at the truth of what is being presented.

Origin of "The Scoop"

"The journalistic sense of 'news published before a rival' is first recorded 1874, American English, from earlier commercial slang sense of 'appropriate so as to exclude competitors' (c.1850)."
http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=scoop&allowed_in_frame=0

This source confirms the date and suspected meaning discussed in class. I'm still curious about the story behind "the scoop." Do you know of any other explanations?