Posted by jay on October 23, 2003, at 1:14:11
In reply to Re: News-Fasts -- I think I would Starve to Death! » jay, posted by Susan J on October 22, 2003, at 8:34:18
Susan...as you likely know, news media tend to emphasize the negative. I'd
quite highly suggest an excellent book by sociologist Dr. Barry Glassner,
called 'The Culture of Fear' (check it out at amazon.com
http://tinyurl.com/s08o ). This book really shows how day-in-and-out, news
media build walls of stories based on half-truths, much hype, and why they
need to do this in order to both make a profit and keep people watching. I
read very, very selectively now when I turn to news, and the media that seem
more interested in good journalism seem to be international, often
non-profit. ('The Guardian' is a good UK paper, as well as their BBC...I can't recall the name of the excellent U.S. non-profit right now...and the CBC in Canada is not bad...)Anyhow, check out Glassner's book, and you can see even how big-stories that hit us 10-20 years ago seem to show up time-and-again but under different names with some details changed.
It takes all of the 'hot air' out of fluffy sensationalism! And may just soothe the nerves a bit too.
Best,
Jay
poster:jay
thread:271543
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20031020/msgs/272161.html