Read This or Die
April 29th, 2009 | Published in General News, Politics
I have enlisted the help of a witch doctor and have placed an ancient Sumerian curse on this article. For those of you who do not read this you will die.
Who am I kidding, we’re all dying, it’s just a matter of when and one news story can’t predict that. Buy these are the tactics used by news agencies everyday to gain your attention.
Why? Because sensationalism sells. The larger the audience the news agency has the more advertising dollars they bring in.
Gone are the days of a news agency as a service, welcome to the days of a news agency as a business. The sad part of that reality is that they suck at running a business.
Thanks to guys like Ted Turner and Rupert Murdoch, news agencies no longer care about responsible journalism. If it isn’t sensationalized, then sensationalize it.
Go back to the all these public threats and you will see what I’m talking about. Al-Qaeda, Illegal immigration, HIV, Pirates, Gay marriage, Iraq war, the Economy, Arlen Specter, and finally the SWINE FLU.
Yesterday, WOAI, a local NBC affiliate, posted all it’s news, from national headlines to sport, in less then 12 minutes. They did this to run a special report on the Swine Flu Outbreak which consisted of 15 minutes of swine flu crap.
The only quote I remember, and I’m sure I’m not the only one, is, “In a swine flu pandemic, anywhere between 450,000 and 900,000 people could be infected here in San Antonio alone. At least 6,750 of would die.” (courtesy of WOAI news)
First off, did we really need this scare report? At the time, there were only three confirmed cases in San Antonio. Secondly, do the people really need to know the speculations of one medical “expert”? I say this was a gross misjudgment on the part of the station, to run the special report. People don’t need fear driven speculation, they need the facts and only the facts.
The facts are school are closing, 3 people are confirmed sick with the virus, and there are 3 unconfirmed cases. Carnival cruise lines recently cancelled tours to Mexico, and no one knows if this virus will hit pandemic proportions.
In fact very little, if any, was said of the Swine Flu outbreak of the early 80s. In that case the worst case scenario never materialized and probably more damage was done by the vaccine given to prevent the illness.
Defenders of the media will argue that they have an obligation to keep the public informed, and I agree whole heartedly. That is their obligation, but to scare the public is a disservice, disgrace, and downright irresponsible.
I’m looking forward for the next special report on the Secret Al-Qaeda illegal immigrant who single handedly brought down the world economy, by spreading the gay swine flu pandemic to pedophile catholic priest who switch from the republican to democratic pirates.
If that doesn’t kill you, nothing will.
Unitil next time,
Art
