MASS DEPOPULATION. GENOCIDE. WWIII?
ECONOMIC ARMAGEDDON. HERE WE COME!
IS THIS THE END OF LABOR IN AMERICA?
ALEXANDER McQUEEN CHOSEN TO DESIGN KATE MIDDLETON'S WEDDING DRESS!
All of these headlines indicate doom, gloom and the end of life as we know it -- except for the last one, which makes me want to end it all. As a writer -- proudly inculcated at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's journalism school -- I know a lot about getting people to read the news.
At the least, I can write a good headline when I need to.
As a result, I feel like I'm qualified to view today's news with a skeptical eye, especially when it uses a certain brand of "armageddon journalism."
I have talked to more people lately that wonder if things have ever been as bad as they are today. And if you cut up your local rag into just headlines, you might agree. News editors will always say that bad news sells papers.
Even my 82-year-old mother lamented the other day that she feels things have never been worse. This from a lady who lived through the Great Depression, Pearl Harbor and the advent of WWII, the historic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, the assassination of John Kennedy, the horrors of the Vietnam War and finally 9/11. Even the advent of Elvis Presley and his pelvic gyrations from the 50's and 60's don't depress her as much as the protests occurring in Madison, Wisconsin and their recall efforts to undo the 2010 elections.
Are things really worse today than the soup lines during the Great Depression? Sending a nation of young men into World War II? Or storming the beaches of Normandy?
Maybe it's the immediacy of today's news. No more waiting for next week's Time Magazine or tomorrow's newspaper. You can't turn on the radio or cable news without being reminded of how terrible things are in the world today (TROUBLE IN MICHIGAN: DETROIT POPULATION SHRINKS BY 25%!). There's no escaping the hostility and vitriol coming from the mouths of politicians, cable news talking heads and newspaper opinion/editorial pages (WHOOPIE GOLDBERG IS HACKED OFF AT DONALD TRUMP, THINKS HE'S A RACIST!). Or visit a gas station without being reminded of recall efforts.
Today's mainstream media have developed a style of reporting that I call Armageddon journalism which means that they report facts as quickly as possible and in the most dramatic way to garner the most coverage and influence opinion. Three examples come to mind: 1) the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, 2) the global warming scare and 3) the earthquake/tsunami coverage in Japan.
If you didn't know better, last year's British Petroleum oil spill caused irreparable damage to the coast area bordering Louisiana. Daily viewing of oil slick beaches and marshes (2,000 SQUARE MILES OF WETLANDS LOST FOREVER!), dead wildlife (DOLPHIN CARCASS FOUND IN THE GULF BLEEDING FROM MOUTH AND BLOW HOLE!) and unemployed fisherman (ONE MILLION JOBS PERMANENTLY LOST IN GULF DISASTER!) created an image of immense destruction, with the only solution being a complete moratorium on oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Damn the later evidence which pointed to a situation that was much less destructive than previously predicted.
Since Al Gore presented his infamous "An Inconvenient Truth" there have been numerous doomsday predictions claiming that global warming is real, potentially catastrophic and caused by humans. Don't let Al Gore's political agenda -- including carbon taxes (HOLLYWOOD EARNS PUBLIC PRAISE THROUGH CARBON CREDITS!), redistribution of wealth (WHERE DID MIDDLE CLASS GO?) and green energy business (GARBAGE TRUCK CUTS HARMFUL EMISSIONS, BUT STILL STINKS!) -- muddy the real truth which includes record low temperatures, an increasing ice mass around the poles and naturally occurring carbon dioxide in everything from trees to flatulent dairy cows.
Japan has been severely hurt by the the recent earthquake and tsunami as evidenced by the death of thousands and the destruction of towns, crops and infrastructure. However, there has been quite a bit of hysteria (RISKY BUSINESS: NUCLEAR CATASTROPHE IN JAPAN!) by every news outlet claiming the dangers of nuclear energy to human life. Greenpeace and every other uber-liberal group has been shouting at the top of their lungs that we must put an end to nuclear power because it's just TOO DANGEROUS. "More windmills and solar panels," they shout. Yes, the nuclear accident in Fukushima Daiichi is terrible. But, just like the oil spill and global warming threat, the potential dangers of nuclear power plants have to be put into perspective. It's so easy to predict disaster when the potential for disaster exists. Hysterically reporting a nuclear meltdown in Japan is not only armageddon journalism at its finest, but also has the long term effects of limiting the energy options needed by our society for years to come (as does misreporting the BP oil damage in the Gulf of Mexico).
[As an aside, the Caithness Windfarm Information Forum reported that there were 35 fatalities associated with wind turbines in the United States from 1970 to 2010. Nuclear energy, by contrast, did not kill a single American in that time. So you tell me which has been the deadlier alternative in the United States?]
I think the internet has changed everything, beginning with social networking. There's never been an easier way to make your opinion known than Facebook, My Space, Twitter or any other networking site. These opinions -- (WALKER DESTROYING WORKING CLASS IN WISCONSIN!) -- drive a wedge between friends and enemies, men and women, sports fans and high school classmates. Don't like how the latest election went? Get on line and broadcast your political views so everyone, including casual friends, family and coworkers who support a different view, can think less of you than before. And be sure to sign off with a something along the lines of "can't we all just get along?"
All this bad news is affecting how we get along with people, including complaining about young girls or boys who sell girl scout cookies or lemonade to people in the neighborhood or at fairs and festivals. What has happened to society when they can't put their own, unhappy lives aside for a little old-fashioned entrepreneurship?
I always feel better after a vacation (MAMA MIA! ITALIAN VACATIONS FOR 65% LESS!) when I don't watch the news or read the daily news. Vacations are excellent for creativity, stress-reduction and for relieving job burnout. As much as any of those, I think the fact that you can sit in an Irish pub drinking a pint of Harp, Guinness or Beamish instead of watching BBC America (IS THE TEA PARTY THE END OF AMERICA?) , lends itself to feeling better after seven days in Galway, Ireland. Get away from it all and it's amazing what you think you can accomplish.
People need to unplug themselves from their cell phones and daily diet of news, cable tv, reality shows and social networks if they want to return to a less stressful life. Wouldn't it be nice if network news, national public radio and big city newspapers could put aside their political leanings and just report the news? Isn't it time for society to find its soul again, and feel good about their jobs, country, family and future?
If not -- it's the end of life as we know it (THE BORG ARE COMING!). Again.
ALEXANDER McQUEEN CHOSEN TO DESIGN KATE MIDDLETON'S WEDDING DRESS!
All of these headlines indicate doom, gloom and the end of life as we know it -- except for the last one, which makes me want to end it all. As a writer -- proudly inculcated at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's journalism school -- I know a lot about getting people to read the news.
At the least, I can write a good headline when I need to.
As a result, I feel like I'm qualified to view today's news with a skeptical eye, especially when it uses a certain brand of "armageddon journalism."
I have talked to more people lately that wonder if things have ever been as bad as they are today. And if you cut up your local rag into just headlines, you might agree. News editors will always say that bad news sells papers.
Even my 82-year-old mother lamented the other day that she feels things have never been worse. This from a lady who lived through the Great Depression, Pearl Harbor and the advent of WWII, the historic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, the assassination of John Kennedy, the horrors of the Vietnam War and finally 9/11. Even the advent of Elvis Presley and his pelvic gyrations from the 50's and 60's don't depress her as much as the protests occurring in Madison, Wisconsin and their recall efforts to undo the 2010 elections.
Are things really worse today than the soup lines during the Great Depression? Sending a nation of young men into World War II? Or storming the beaches of Normandy?
Maybe it's the immediacy of today's news. No more waiting for next week's Time Magazine or tomorrow's newspaper. You can't turn on the radio or cable news without being reminded of how terrible things are in the world today (TROUBLE IN MICHIGAN: DETROIT POPULATION SHRINKS BY 25%!). There's no escaping the hostility and vitriol coming from the mouths of politicians, cable news talking heads and newspaper opinion/editorial pages (WHOOPIE GOLDBERG IS HACKED OFF AT DONALD TRUMP, THINKS HE'S A RACIST!). Or visit a gas station without being reminded of recall efforts.
Today's mainstream media have developed a style of reporting that I call Armageddon journalism which means that they report facts as quickly as possible and in the most dramatic way to garner the most coverage and influence opinion. Three examples come to mind: 1) the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, 2) the global warming scare and 3) the earthquake/tsunami coverage in Japan.
If you didn't know better, last year's British Petroleum oil spill caused irreparable damage to the coast area bordering Louisiana. Daily viewing of oil slick beaches and marshes (2,000 SQUARE MILES OF WETLANDS LOST FOREVER!), dead wildlife (DOLPHIN CARCASS FOUND IN THE GULF BLEEDING FROM MOUTH AND BLOW HOLE!) and unemployed fisherman (ONE MILLION JOBS PERMANENTLY LOST IN GULF DISASTER!) created an image of immense destruction, with the only solution being a complete moratorium on oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Damn the later evidence which pointed to a situation that was much less destructive than previously predicted.
Since Al Gore presented his infamous "An Inconvenient Truth" there have been numerous doomsday predictions claiming that global warming is real, potentially catastrophic and caused by humans. Don't let Al Gore's political agenda -- including carbon taxes (HOLLYWOOD EARNS PUBLIC PRAISE THROUGH CARBON CREDITS!), redistribution of wealth (WHERE DID MIDDLE CLASS GO?) and green energy business (GARBAGE TRUCK CUTS HARMFUL EMISSIONS, BUT STILL STINKS!) -- muddy the real truth which includes record low temperatures, an increasing ice mass around the poles and naturally occurring carbon dioxide in everything from trees to flatulent dairy cows.
Japan has been severely hurt by the the recent earthquake and tsunami as evidenced by the death of thousands and the destruction of towns, crops and infrastructure. However, there has been quite a bit of hysteria (RISKY BUSINESS: NUCLEAR CATASTROPHE IN JAPAN!) by every news outlet claiming the dangers of nuclear energy to human life. Greenpeace and every other uber-liberal group has been shouting at the top of their lungs that we must put an end to nuclear power because it's just TOO DANGEROUS. "More windmills and solar panels," they shout. Yes, the nuclear accident in Fukushima Daiichi is terrible. But, just like the oil spill and global warming threat, the potential dangers of nuclear power plants have to be put into perspective. It's so easy to predict disaster when the potential for disaster exists. Hysterically reporting a nuclear meltdown in Japan is not only armageddon journalism at its finest, but also has the long term effects of limiting the energy options needed by our society for years to come (as does misreporting the BP oil damage in the Gulf of Mexico).
[As an aside, the Caithness Windfarm Information Forum reported that there were 35 fatalities associated with wind turbines in the United States from 1970 to 2010. Nuclear energy, by contrast, did not kill a single American in that time. So you tell me which has been the deadlier alternative in the United States?]
I think the internet has changed everything, beginning with social networking. There's never been an easier way to make your opinion known than Facebook, My Space, Twitter or any other networking site. These opinions -- (WALKER DESTROYING WORKING CLASS IN WISCONSIN!) -- drive a wedge between friends and enemies, men and women, sports fans and high school classmates. Don't like how the latest election went? Get on line and broadcast your political views so everyone, including casual friends, family and coworkers who support a different view, can think less of you than before. And be sure to sign off with a something along the lines of "can't we all just get along?"
All this bad news is affecting how we get along with people, including complaining about young girls or boys who sell girl scout cookies or lemonade to people in the neighborhood or at fairs and festivals. What has happened to society when they can't put their own, unhappy lives aside for a little old-fashioned entrepreneurship?
We need a night at the drive in movies to remind us of the better things in life. Or maybe a night of dancing the foxtrot, rhumba and swing. How about we try "spades, alone." in a game of euchre?
People need to unplug themselves from their cell phones and daily diet of news, cable tv, reality shows and social networks if they want to return to a less stressful life. Wouldn't it be nice if network news, national public radio and big city newspapers could put aside their political leanings and just report the news? Isn't it time for society to find its soul again, and feel good about their jobs, country, family and future?
If not -- it's the end of life as we know it (THE BORG ARE COMING!). Again.
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