This is a rant. I glanced at a newspaper the other day and was reminded why
I don't read or watch the news - what a Daily Dose of Depression! No wonder
the US / UK economies are in a rut, everybody has been scared / depressed /
frightened into doing anything but sit around and commiserating about how
terrible it all is. It IS terrible, it sucks, it's a rotten place to be in,
we've all done daft things to get us in this place and it's going to take a
while before things get better (economically). There are many people who
have been seriously affected by the economy and the shenanagins that have
gone on in the marketplace. But I wonder how much worse it is because of a
constant, never-ending verbal and visual barrage of HOW BAD IT IS.
If I am around people who constantly talk about depressing things, how
terrible this is, woe is me, moan moan moan, I find myself getting depressed
and start focusing, looking for everything around me that is wrong. And
boy, if I look for things that are wrong, can I ever find them! The media
which we let (or even pay) to come into our homes is worse than the most
dreadfully depressing person we know - you know, the one that when you see
him walking down the street, you cross to avoid talking to him; the one who
sucks the life out of a room. If the media were a person, would you spend
time with him or would you cross the road to get away from him?
There are toxic people in this world, people who make you feel bad, who skew
your perspective, damage your confidence, spread rumors and inuendos, and
lie to you. If the media were a person, would any of these apply to him?
It would be fine if news stories were accurate, well-researched and
fact-based, but they are often just that - stories. Bits and pieces of
unverified data spun with someone's personal opinion and then
sensationalised even further for ratings purposes.
There are plenty of sources available now via the Internet which give you a
more accurate, unspun view of what is happening. The data that the media
picks and chooses bits of is available in its complete form on the web,
usually providing a very different 'story' than the one that is presented on
the screen or the page.
Does the focus have to always be on the negative? There are just as many
positive things that happen on a daily basis, but unfortunately those don't
improve ratings or sell papers so we don't see them. I need a more objective view which
looks at the positives which are happening along with the negatives. One
study I looked at found that the average amount of positive news on American
TV stations ABC, CBS and NBC was 25.1 per cent. This is not to say that the
rest is negative. Almost half, 46.8 per cent, was found to be negative. The
other 28.1 per cent they called "indeterminable." How much press is given
to the positive impact of the drop in interest rates and the resulting drop
in mortgage payments (tens to hundreds of pounds per month)? How much focus
is there on people who are getting ahead in this economy or using this time
to discover other things of value besides the economy? How many stories are
there about people who are reconnecting with family or friends, discovering
talents that they never had time for, or activities / interests that they
never explored?
Like I said, I don't read the paper / watch the news and generally I'm
pretty positive about things. A question I do get is, "How do you stay
informed, what if something happens?" I can catch up on all the news in a
two month period usually by reading one day's paper or having a quick skim
of the news sites, but I miss out on two months of repititious gloom and
doom. And if something really big happens, somebody will always tell you or
it will be posted on one of the blogs I read. One site that offers a more
positive view is http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/
Not being Pollyanna-ish or putting my head in the sand, but I think I'll
pass on the Daily Dose of Depression...
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Your observation can be summed up as: "Misery does love company and it feeds well upon itself." Truly, I love watching the CNBC network with the stock ticker accross the screen and the chatter all day about the economy. If you listen sans their own misery, it can almost be humorous at times. However, if I listened to every word as gospel, Bill would be scattering my ashes about the back yard right now and removing the yellow crime scene tape from the Skyway Bridge! The news is like watching a soap opera. You can watch every day or once a year and not miss too much. I quite enjoyed looking at your goodnews site and it was refreshing to read the articles. My point is also to keep an ear to the ground to hear of any distant rumblings or even good sounds coming our way as I do hear some you know. Bill and I have committed (in our version of the Red Book) to offer value to our services in these difficult times for homeowners. The payoff is not so immediate (unfortunately) but we know it is the right way to run our business and lives. Therefore, a current if not daily understanding of even the relentless media chatter is important to filter through. It's just part of the job in a way but also, who wants to buy or sell a house from someone who is screaming the sky is falling the sky is falling hurry up! Knowledge and honesty is powerful. Misery is draining and weakening which is a lesson one has to learn more than once a lifetime unfortunately (first hand experience profit here). You can trust me that if there is something you really need to know, I am keeping an eye out for you both!
ReplyDeleteThe top and bottom of it all is like you say....the media want to sell newspapers and this often means being negative because for some reason (and i think that the UK are more guilty of this than the US as i do believe that our day to day attitudes are more negative) this is what people want to hear.
ReplyDeleteI have times where i am as guilty of this as the next person, although i do like to see myself as a glass half full girl! I know people who i actually avoid now (whether they are colleagues, friends or even family) as much as possible because it seems that no matter what positive spin i put on things they just will not be helped.
At the moment the news has shifted from the economy to the weather (something we brits are never satisfied with!) we have had an awful lot of snow (see the blog) and i have had two days where i couldn't get into the office but rather than whinge about it and about that fact that the transport system isn't geared up for this weather (hmmmm maybe that is because the last time we had weather like this was 20yrs ago so i think we have to be realistic about it!) etc etc or rather than worry about the things i couldn't do i have caught up on the things that normally take a back seat in the rush of day to day office life such as reading, research and catalouging the useful articles i often find in marketing magazines i read, this is just as important in building my knowledge than tearing around the office onstantly. Other people i imagine have been pulling their hair out (and the same with the economy) over the things that they can't do rather than focusing on what they can do.
I know that money is tight for some people and that some people have suffered an awful lot with job losses but we all have a choice in how we handle what is thrown at us. For me i have rediscovered my love of cooking, reading a good book and either entertaining at home or being entertained at friends houses. Just as enjoyable as going out and spending money on entertainment.
On the other hand Joe has a good point, to add value to their business proposition (essential in a competitive environment) they need to know how to advise their clients and this means keeping their fingers on the pulse so i guess the media has some advantage. However we all need to be aware that figures/data can be spun to show whatever we want it to.