Doom and Gloom of Media Sensationalizing Distorts True Picture of America.

News media is a business, out to make a profit, make no mistake. Sensationalizing stories increases viewership, which in turn increases advertisers, leading to greater profits. To “sauce up” a story is in their best interests, to merely report the bland flavor of humdrum mundane news would be completely against their business model. It would in fact be idiotic. Furthermore, that business has become entertainment. Watch your nightly news and notice similarities with other forms of television entertainment. First, the news has a “Theme Song”. Why would objective, fact reporting journalism need theme music? As you continue to become absorbed by the movie, I mean news, you might take note of the high dollar special effects. Spinning three-dimensional logos, animated graphics, elaborate sets and backdrops. The only thing missing is a concession stand selling popcorn.

They are using Hollywood tactics also. Fear and suspense are standard movie ingredients. How often do you hear on the news the baited fishing line lures such as, “Learn how to protect your family from a new threat, details at 11 o’clock.” “There’s a new scam that you need to be aware of, coming up later in the program.”

If you don’t think your news is entertainment yet, ask yourself why morning news shows are starting to show more segments that are blatantly not related to anything whatsoever to do with news. Cooking segments, with chefs? Screaming throngs of fans waving their arms in the air as if they are at a concert, standing outside for a chance to see the rock stars, I mean newsreaders.

What are the recurrent themes of this entertainment machine? What sells best, of course. Murders, robberies, wars, child abuse, stock market crashes, home invasions, car jacking, financial scams, elderly abuse, dog fighting, missing white women, airline crashes, terrorism. Watching all this you would think the world is becoming a terrible place, a dangerous place in which to live where you are constantly at risk of your very life and limb. Despite the fact that the world is now safer to live in than it has ever been.

• The average lifespan in the United States has increased from 47 years in 1900 to an amazing 77 years at the turn of the century, that’s a whopping 64% increase. The media tells you of terrible surgical mistakes, and bad doctors though.
• The U.S. BLS and Census Bureau shows the per capita income Americans grew 76.6% from 1947 to 1997, however your television news paints a grim picture of the stock market, unemployment, your retirement future in shambles.
  
• Home ownership has increased from from 46.5% in 1900 almost 20 points to 66.2% in 2000, but your television is portraying the doom and gloom of the housing market bubble bursting.
  
• The media machine tells terrible losses in the Middle East but would it surprise you to learn that there was a greater loss of life in 20th century wars you may not have even heard of, such as the Russian Civil War (over 90 times as many), the Second Congo War (over 130.8 times as many) and the Second Sino-Japanese War (over 200 times as many) as examples.
  
• The media convinces you that our schools are failing, that students can no longer learn in them. Yet it’s interesting that the percentage of children entering into college is the highest level it has ever been in U.S. history with 28% completing 4 or more years of college in 2006 compared to a miniscule 4.6% in 1940. An amazing improvement, one which your television doesn't tell you about.
  
• The media tells you that nobody can afford health insurance, that people just can’t get coverage. Interesting that the Census Bureau’s 2006 report shows that 84.2% of Americans have health insurance. Compared to a hundred years ago, well, we can’t compare to that since health insurance didn’t even exist a hundred years ago. But it’s all doom and gloom.

The entire country is by far better than it has ever been, yet the media machine keeps pulling you further into it’s clutches by selling you a picture of despair and misery, pain and suffering, violence and death. And we fall for it. More Americans are in psychotherapy now than ever, with an increase of people being treated for depression rising 223.5% between 1987 and 1997. We drug our children with kiddy-Prozac since it seems all children now have ADHD, or so our television tells us, so we drug them like obedient automatons. When will we turn off that spew of drivel and start seeing our country for what it really is, a successful, wealthy, wonderful and free place to live.

Jonathan RF Cooke
September 6th, 2007

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