I am so sick of news sensationalism and I am glad there are those to skewer the media over it. But they will never learn and will continue to provoke hysteria for ratings and acting and the Emmy. O my!
I blame the Weather Channel, which proved that there is money to be made and ratings to be had by appealing to fear and whipping people into a frenzy (Fox News is the political analog). Other networks and local stations followed suit. They won't quit until people stop watching their Snowmageddon nonsense, which is why I have.
The weather people have to justify their existence as pseudo-stars. There is nothing more ridiculous than the posturing and hysteria of the weather channel..well, CNN, maybe.
My brother and his wife stayed in their home in Bay St. Louis, MS during Hurricane Katrina (the place where the hurricane came ashore) mainly because they discounted the storm warnings as hype. They did that because for so many previous hurricanes the hype was so extreme but the storm amounted to nothing, so they thought there was no real danger; that the dire warnings were just hype.
Their home and everything around them was completely destroyed. At 9 am they SWAM out of their second story window to escape the 30 foot storm surge that flooded their house, and they clung to a 40 foot pine tree for 8 hours while being battered by 120 mph winds and rain. They were lucky, they got out of it with only scraps and bruises, but they are still somewhat traumatized. Now, any prediction of foul weather and my sister in law begins to panic.
The irresponsible sensationalism by the media is creating a deadly scenario by way of the "Boy Who Cried Wolf" principle. Eventually people discount the warnings because of so many false alarms.
Joe: Many years ago, when I was out in California, I experienced a quake (a 5 point something or other magnitude as I recall). Initially, there was a loud boom and the building shook. I thought that a car or truck had struck the building. Then for a minute or two (maybe not that long, but you lose the normal sense of time) everything was swaying back and forth as if one was on a boat out in the ocean. It was one of the strangest things I have ever experienced.
11 comments:
I blame the Weather Channel, which proved that there is money to be made and ratings to be had by appealing to fear and whipping people into a frenzy (Fox News is the political analog). Other networks and local stations followed suit. They won't quit until people stop watching their Snowmageddon nonsense, which is why I have.
The snow was happening in the Northeast. So why broadcast it on national tv. Its a local issue. I never watched any of the coverage.
The weather people have to justify their existence as pseudo-stars. There is nothing more ridiculous than the posturing and hysteria of the weather channel..well, CNN, maybe.
Obsessions are a choice...
TV is a choice, Internet usage is a choice...you get the drift.
My brother and his wife stayed in their home in Bay St. Louis, MS during Hurricane Katrina (the place where the hurricane came ashore) mainly because they discounted the storm warnings as hype. They did that because for so many previous hurricanes the hype was so extreme but the storm amounted to nothing, so they thought there was no real danger; that the dire warnings were just hype.
Their home and everything around them was completely destroyed. At 9 am they SWAM out of their second story window to escape the 30 foot storm surge that flooded their house, and they clung to a 40 foot pine tree for 8 hours while being battered by 120 mph winds and rain. They were lucky, they got out of it with only scraps and bruises, but they are still somewhat traumatized. Now, any prediction of foul weather and my sister in law begins to panic.
The irresponsible sensationalism by the media is creating a deadly scenario by way of the "Boy Who Cried Wolf" principle. Eventually people discount the warnings because of so many false alarms.
YOU get sick of "sensationalism," Good Father "Bombshell"?
Sicut si aliquis vas ad ollam nigri vocans!
The joys of watching winter from the left coast
Joe, yeah, but we don't get the earthquakes.
The earthquakes aren't that bad. :)
I'll take the sun and ground shakes any day of the week.
Joe:
Many years ago, when I was out in California, I experienced a quake (a 5 point something or other magnitude as I recall). Initially, there was a loud boom and the building shook. I thought that a car or truck had struck the building. Then for a minute or two (maybe not that long, but you lose the normal sense of time) everything was swaying back and forth as if one was on a boat out in the ocean. It was one of the strangest things I have ever experienced.
Jdj:
Yes, I think we get the drift. Moreover, the coverage of New York was definitely rather flaky.
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