I have to wonder if the world would be better off without mass media scaring the shit out of people. I watch the news on television, online, over the radio... and it seems each outlet is trying to top the other on just how horrible everything is. Never before have I seen a thesaurus used so much to describe the situation we are all in.
I watched as the government used fear, enhanced by media to pass laws people did not fully comprehend or attempt to understand. Through out the 8 years the media created a sense of despair; terrorists were at our doors waiting to kidnap our children and kick puppies.
Its not meant as a way to demean what has happened but in retrospect we signed away certain rights in order to feel safe from the very thing the media convinced us was there.
Now with the economic troubles at hand I am seeing words spun such as catastrophe, calamity, cataclysm, disaster, ruin etc... like people are uneasy as it is, then to hear this only enforces the thoughts; Its a downward spiral effect that will just make things worse. We're presented now with laws promising to make things better, stimulus packages, job creation and everyone is happy for it, they feel this will solve their problems. I just have the same feelings as before that this will be something that will bite us on our asses later on.
Even locally the media spin is just as depressing, if you were to believe everything at face value about Salinas you would think it is a lawless town with shoot outs at all hours, people cowering in their homes out of fear; that the very town itself is under siege with gangs and violence.
The reality is far from the truth. Yes the gangs are there and it is a problem that is increasing, but trust me if it was really that bad the property values vs cost of living would not be some of the highest in the state.
The city recently announced it would be calling in help from the military in the matters of the gangs. Personally I think this is nothing more then a attempt to distract people from the fact the city council has screwed up. Its funny that while the city itself cant make budget, getting ready to pull tax money that was collected for the libraries to stay open; that they suddenly focusing on the threat of the gangs in salinas. Surprise, surprise the media is eating it up, they rather throw big headlines and promos about how many deaths there was this year or military action will be coming, further enforcing the hype.
Its hard now a days to even know if a report is unbiased. Everything is owned by something else. Corporations control what we see and hear. By no means am I saying I have my tin foil hat out waiting for the black copters, but with media priority to make money now, is the stories we should be aware of being heard? Are journalists writing what they see or what will make a good headline?
