Some people would say I am a defeatist, but there are times in life when the obvious becomes too obvious, when coincidences become more than what they seem to be, and patterns develop themselves into acceptable habits. These are the types of things I see everywhere, but most importantly, I see those things with the media coverage we receive from all-hour-of-the-day-and-or-night news broadcasts.
Whether you get your news from MSN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS or FOX NEWS, the broadcasts all appear eerily similar. Call me a conspiracy theorist if you like, but it just seems too strange.
Every day — or, for some, every hour — we get the latest news about the worst crimes committed, get our update on terror levels or witness the latest disaster live, and so on.
Now, I know by sheer statistical probability, there must be news out there that doesn’t involve deplorable crimes — and I suppose that maybe my appetite for the underbelly of society is limited, but I’m sure there are people who feel the same way.
So what about the people who like their news gruesome? At what point in the evolution of the human mind did it become an enjoyable sight or concept to learn of others’ suffering? In my mind, this phenomenon signals a serious rift in acceptable behavior.
I happen to remember hearing warnings from counselors in state-funded schools — as well as many other sources while I was growing up — about the ways to recognize a troubled classmate or sibling. Can anyone else remember them? They asked us to look for the type of children who took pleasure in the suffering of animals or other creatures, and they asked us to report the bullying of other school kids to parents, teachers or school officials.
So, how is our behavior now any different from those children we were told to keep at a distance? When did we become that troubled child?
Well, let’s do what we do best and not put all the blame on ourselves. We did have some help along the way. From the very beginning, we have been receiving violent programming — preparing our minds for the reality of life. Then again, that isn’t really reality, is it? But we believed it anyway, and we became what we are today.
Let’s also not forget the omnipotent media giants, of course, who know exactly what we want. Multi-national corporations like GE and AOL Time Warner, who control large portions of the media, and are able to filter in or out the news they deem newsworthy. So, the problem isn’t really us. It’s just that we’ve become so accustomed to this type of news coverage that it would be hard to change.
It’s the equivalent to handing a child a bag of skittles, letting him or her taste a few, then promptly removing the bag and replacing it with a piece of broccoli. While some children would deal with having to eat the broccoli, the majority would rather have the skittles. So, if it’s possible to change, why don’t we?
We don’t change because bad news is profitable throughout the rest of the world, due to the fact that the majority of developing and third-world nations have no capacity to produce their own news, but they have the ability to distribute news coverage imported from the U.S. as well as other programming, via cable or satellite feeds.
So, where do we go from here?
Well, there isn’t a lot that can be done, really, unless you can convince the media giants to stop selling a product that sells — and sells really well. You can, however, keep that television off and read a newspaper or use the Internet, but of these options are just as susceptible to similar pitfalls.
Still, if enough people stopped watching these broadcasts, maybe the media giants would get the picture.
Write to Justin at
jdwilliams2@bsu.edu
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