I am really sick and tired of turning on the news and hearing the news babes and news hunks spouting constant doom and gloom. Too many times they are creating news, and creating panic where none needs exist.
Well, ok, don’t turn on the news, some might say. That’s a pretty simplistic solution to one problem but one can’t hide from what might actually be important and what one might actually need to know about all the time, can one? Or two. That’s not the answer; that’s a joke, Smokey. Turn it off? Sheesh. Bite me.
I actually do that far more than I used to because it’s frickin’ depressing and I really don’t need anymore of that. But I do need to stay informed, if only so I can poke fun of or rant about things in my blog. Or make small talk when forced to talk to the neighbor, something I also try to avoid.
But this dramatizing of the news, enough already. News people simply used to report what was going on—mostly, though there has always been a few who felt the need to insert their opinion, which I care about as much as Lindsey Lohan’s opinion on, well, anything, or make a dull piece of news scintillating, usually by hyperbole. Now they embellish or even outright lie, one way or the other. I won’t get into a debate whether they lean left or lean right, but they certainly do lean. And the primary focus of that lean, other than to push some news channel owner’s thinly veiled agenda, is to beat the other news babes and hunks in the ratings war and make more money. Everything comes down to money, it seems. And fear equals money.
Swine flu. Pigs are invading the USA, streaming across the border from Mexico, grunting their apocalyptic grunts of doom. Beware these pigs because if they kiss you you are D-E-A-D! Yeah, that’s right, folks and folkettes, guns don’t kill people—frickin’ pigs do!
Sure, Swine Flu is something we need to know about and need to take precautions against. But I am seeing people cower in fear. The gym was practically empty today, and I am pretty sure it was because the local stations are warning about contact with people. Hmmm, I wonder how the brothels are doing? Or is that a whole different kind of flu?
By the time we are done there might be a couple hundred total cases or there might be a million. But it won’t matter to the news stations because their rateings will be up and more money will be flowing in and the whole damn country will be scared swineless.
It’s not just flu. It’s the economy, some war, an asteroid hurtling towards earth, greenhouse garbage or Paris Hilton suddenly has become a flesh-eating zombie. (Ok, that one might have happened.) It matters not, crisis big or small, all are exploitable.
But why are people? Is scaring them into a panic or depressing them into hurling their frightened asses off a bridge really worth the extra bucks?
Guess it must be to those who run the media. No news, well, hell, make it, fake it and serve it with a frickin’ big shovel.
Well, screw it. I’m gonna believe that Santa is real and coming with his band of merry little elves—all of whom just happen to look like Jennifer Love Hewitt and Jessica Alba—to save the world. So there, news babes and hunks and media mogals. Put that in your teleprompter and roll it
Thursday, April 30, 2009
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2 comments:
Sadly I think the days when the news reported on the news died a long time ago. Now they have to make the news so they can keep themselves in a job. Make up something bizarre for several days and then when it gets a reaction report on the reaction, seems to be the endlessly repeated method. That tides them over until they can think up another bizarre thing to claim is the news. It's certainly a lot cheaper than having reporters going out and investigating stuff.
Today I learnt that 750,000 people will die in the UK if the pandemic arrives leading to a total collapse of the infrastructure. So far one couple from Glasgow, who sold their story to the media and can't be shown on tv, got a bit of cough.
Why on earth any of us bother with writing fiction for books I don't know; we should write it for the news.
I agree- nutso- doom, gloom and panic-every friggin thing is a disaster. NPR actually told people to stock up on groceries because the stores will all shut down and we'll starve... what?
Yellow journalism at its finest.
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