Sometimes I just “check out” for a while, news-wise. While I have a TV in my office that is normally set to cable news or CSPAN, there are days I pop in a DVD that I’ve seen a million times, just to listen to it while I work, or leave it on TLC or the Discovery channel. I don’t read the paper, blogs, or listen to talk radio on these days. I take these breaks because the media’s “if it bleeds, it ledes” policy just wears me out sometimes. The news is always bad, always urgent, always catastrophic or about to be… and always repeated ad nauseum. Of course, after a few days or a week off, I need to catch up, else how will I know what I need to fear?
A quick, easy and free timesaving solution is now available. If you also occasionally find yourself in the position of not knowing what to be afraid of, all you need to do is visit PanicWatch.org. You can see at a glance what the media wants you to panic over, and it’s even ranked so you don’t have to wonder which story is scariest.
Bird Flu. Killer Bees. Flesh-eating bacteria. The world is a scary place, and the media is here to let us know it. But keeping up with the latest fear trends is a tough job! We’re here to help.
PanicWatch constantly tracks media alarmism, and every week provides the latest scares in a handy chart format (with the scariest at the top). Gone are the days of living in a lead-lined room, staring at dozens of flickering TV news feeds; let us handle it for you.
Hat tip to Peter C. Glover for this incredible resource!
I’m a big fan of false immediacy in news.
For instance, if something bad happens in Columbus, Georgia, CNN will have someone reporting live in Atlanta’s Centennial Park.
They fail to mention, 1. Columbus and Atlanta are nowhere near one another and that pretending that being in the capital of Georgia whilst there is a crisis elsewhere in the state is a bit like saying you have expertise about night time because you pull the drapes down at noon.
2. Centennial Park is across the street from the CNN headquarters. They could have just as well done the report from inside the studio but they took a five minute stroll because, somehow, being outdoors gives them more authority on the subject.
I’ve noticed that too. I don’t know why they feel the need to do that – just like the only way they want to report on flooding is from a canoe (even though the water is ankle deep) or wearing hip boots. It’s less news than info-tainment these days. Very frustrating because it feels so fake even when you know it’s not.