Re: [californiadisasters] Re: It's the end of the World..tomorrow.

True. We bash the media for the "reporting" they do (and they do deserve
some bashing), but to some extent at least, they only give us what we
want--in their terminology, what's "good for circulation" (print media) or
"good for ratings" (broadcast media).

If the bulk of readers/viewers/listeners would tell them, for example, "Hey!
Stop with all this doomsday, Arnold's 'love-child', etc., and give us some
coverage of the Mississippi flooding," the media would be all over the
flooding story.

Not that I'm letting the "talking heads" and their editors/directors off the
hook. It's still true that TV news value is based a lot on whether there's
video, and that they claim an incident just started when their cameras get
on-scene even though I've been monitoring it on the scanner for 30-45
minutes. And it's still true that too many of those on-camera are too much
like Ted Baxter (the news anchor on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" who was a
complete "loose cannon" whenever he departed from his script).

And I believe the media have made things news that shouldn't have been, and
often are making the situations themselves into "situations" by their
coverage. For instance, I think the sensationalized coverage of rising gas
prices sends people to the pump for a panic top-off which increases demand
which drives up the prices.

But we've done this discussion before.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Vic" <sactovic@yahoo.com>
To: <californiadisasters@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, May 21, 2011 8:00 AM
Subject: [californiadisasters] Re: It's the end of the World..tomorrow.

Hey, folks,

This is a subject that almost everybody in the U.S., at least, is thinking
and talking about. This Yahoo Group alone is proof of that. That's the
definition of news. Don't blame the media for reporting it. If they weren't,
people would be calling it a coverup.

Vic
Retired reporter

--- In californiadisasters@yahoogroups.com, mdeanm@... wrote:
>
> That or they could not find news worthy things to report on.
> Dean
> Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: "Dan Waterhouse" <gydanw@...>
> Sender: californiadisasters@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Sat, 21 May 2011 07:30:27
> To: <californiadisasters@yahoogroups.com>
> Reply-To: californiadisasters@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [californiadisasters] It's the end of the World..tomorrow.
>
> Unfortunately, due to cable news and the fact this character is located in
Oakland, it's gotten way!!!! more air time than it should have in the first
place. ABC News reported there's been likely one murder (of a very young
child) triggered by this prediction--many of the evangels believe this, and
most who do blame it on the acceptance of gays--an extension of the nonsense
preached by Fred Phelps..
>
> --dan
>

------------------------------------

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