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Bol, island of Brac : after the winter storm of 2005

Local broadcasting news consist mainly of local killings, accidents, fires, robberies, etc; occasionally they ascend to genocides and large natural catastrophes. In the absence of wars, massacres, floods and earthquakes, national broadcasting agencies select the most colorful local killing or rape. Not to sag behind, Weather Channel has introduced Storm Stories (and recently Animal Storm Stories!). Are they intentionally fueling the dark side of human nature? Or they believe in viewer’s catharsis healing power?

Just as action events such as football games are more entertaining on television than quiet events such as chess matches, it is more likely that riots, bombings, earthquakes, massacres, and other violent acts will get more air time than stories about people helping each other or working to prevent violence. Thus, news telecasts tend to focus on the violent behavior of individuals - terrorists, protesters, strikers, or police - because action makes for more exciting viewing than does a portrayal of people behaving in a peaceful, orderly manner. Such coverage does not present a balanced picture of what is happening in the nation, not because the people who run the news media are evil and trying to manipulate us but simply because they are trying to entertain us.

Elliot Aronson: The social Animal, 8th ed., Worth Publishers, 1999; first published in 1972.

 

Bol, island of Brac : after the winter storm of 2005.

I don’t buy that. Making money under entertainment blanket maybe does not deserve ‘evil’ attribute, but brainwashing does: even if mass media do not guide me how to think, they push me what to think about.

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