What is the 'Umbrella Effect' in journalism?

Hey there, this concept is actually quite vivid, so I'll try to explain it to you in plain language.

Just imagine a really, really big umbrella, opened wide.

In the "Canopy Effect," the "canopy" refers to this big umbrella. In news, this "big umbrella" is usually a super significant news event that grabs everyone's attention. For example:

• A nationally watched Olympic Games.
• A fiercely contested presidential election.
• A sudden, hugely impactful natural disaster (like an earthquake or tsunami).
• Or a celebrity scandal that goes viral on social media.

When such a "big umbrella" level news story emerges, it dominates almost all media front pages, prime time TV slots, and website home page recommendations. Everyone talks about it; it's like a giant umbrella covering the entire public discourse.

So, what's the effect?

The effect is that, under the shadow of this big umbrella, other news stories get "covered up."

Think about it: media space and time are limited, and so is public attention. When all resources and focus rush towards that major event, other news stories, which might also be important but not as "sensational," struggle to get reported, or even if they are, they fail to make a splash.

For instance, while everyone is glued to the Olympic Games, a city might introduce an important policy related to people's livelihoods, or there might be a significant scientific breakthrough in a certain field. But under the "Olympic Games" umbrella, these news stories become "invisible" and are overlooked by the public.

To put it simply:

The "Canopy Effect" describes a phenomenon where a super significant news event acts like a big umbrella, monopolizing public and media attention, leading to other news stories being marginalized and overlooked. In plain terms, it's like "one beauty covers a hundred flaws" – except here, it's "one 'big' covers a hundred 'small' ones."