- http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,482688,00.html : This article tells of a fire that raged over Texas. It focuses on the deaths that occured and on how the cleanup is far from over and the fire is not contained yet. Nowhere in the article does it talk about heroic ventures that saved lives or about a promising future for anyone involved. Instead, it inspires fear and panic in its viewers.
- http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=6717623&page=1 : This article inspires fear and only fear, in my opinion. It describes how the rates of meth usage have went up in recent times. It goes so far as to say that even soccer moms are doing it now. This article portrays only one side of this study and it emphasizes how EVERYONE is doing meth it seems. It doesn't describe the efforts to stop meth use or say anything about the future looking better if we prevent and stop drug use.
- http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/01/23/business/main4750512.shtml : This article talks about the United States banks that are going under. While there is talk in this news story of what the government is planning to do, I think that as a whole this story is full of fear tactics. It's aim is to put panic into Americans who have their money in banks.
We should not be trying to scare citizens with our news stories and that is what is happening. Just from what I have seen on television and online this week I realize that there can be fear placed into any story whether it is about banks, meth, or a tragedy involving fire. I hope that when people watch these stories and read about them that they realize they need to take them with a serious grain of salt.
The article you posted about the banks going under is interesting and seems to have a lot of factual data. Basically, you are right in that they seem to be using the scare tactic to influence people to take their money out of the banks. I think the situation with the banks is not as bad as they make it out to be. Economically, it seems they are exercising their options that best fit the situation. By scaring people, they are actually making the whole situation even worse instead of improving it.
ReplyDeleteWell put, Jacy.
ReplyDeleteToo often, news media -- and WAY too often television media -- run stories like these of isolated incidents that will never affect the public as a whole. However, it inspires paranoia among the public that "This could happen to you," which is why we're all scared, all the time. They're doing it in the name of public service, but it ends up doing the opposite the vast majority of the time.
Oh man...I am totally scared of what I watch on the news! I actually think I just freak myself out even worse by watching stories on the news. When I was in high school, I remember watching a news report on mad cow disease. It freaked me out! For the longest time after I watched the report, before I would take a bite of beef, I would think of what would happen if I got mad cow disease. But I would still eat the meat, lol.
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