You all are right. I should ignore the news.
After all, we all know (don’t we?) that the news is intentionally sensationalized and presented in such a way as to make people upset.
It’s true! Print media and electronic media both suck you in with stories and (especially) spin that make you mad. Or horrified, or somehow emotionally involved.
(Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly’s “No Spin Zone” is a joke, I’m afraid.)
Why? Because it improves their ratings, circulation, or whatever other method they use to generate advertising revenue.
Ooooo. Cynic alert! Am I saying it’s all about money? Well, hello!!
What aggravates me is that even though I KNOW this, I still let myself get sucked in and respond from emotion. I shouldn’t react, even though the human being inside of me is appalled at the story.
It’s truly a shame that we are being DE-sensitized to horrible events, out of distaste for being sucked in to an emotional reaction to stories because of the way they’re presented!
Okay. I know. This is NOT why you read this blog. You don’t come here to see me rant and foam at the mouth, especially about issues that are kind of “old hat.” I’ll take a pill and feel better.
Ahhhh! The pill is kicking in now.
HEY! I’m getting ready to go on VACATION!! I should be HAPPY!
So, to heck with the family in Texas that was tied up, robbed, and the dad shot and killed as the rest of them watched. Who cares? Hey, I don’t raise fighting pit bull dogs, so it’s not my problem.
Oh, and for you writers... If you don’t read Cali’s blog, go take a look at her post for today about how she gets to know (REALLY know) the characters she creates in her fiction. Good stuff.
3 comments:
The news has been making me nutty lately too. That's why now, when I get in the car, I listen to the "headlines", make sure nothing that affects me & mine is imminent, then turn it off.
For some reason, Blogger wouldn't let me get in and comment on yesterday's post. What I was GOING to say was, if the guy was abusing and exploiting dogs like that, then YES, good riddance!
Also, there was a phrase in the article that really caught my eye - the one about "genetically engineered" fighting dogs. What?!?! OMG!
I'm visiting blogs from the bottom of my list upwards today so will be going to Cali's shortly.
I'm the same with the news. It's a terrible thing that they make it appear worse than it is.
We watched a news item about stabbings in the UK. It sounded like everyone was blade mad. We spoke to a family friend who is a policeman. He said the stabbings are no different or worse than they were years ago...
Hmmm.
:o)
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