Media Coverage -- Are we seeing schizophrenia setting in?

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Have any of you noticed 2 distinct and opposite elements moving in the major newsmedia the past week or ten days? It has been subtle.

#1 element. = The story side bars that the "doomer" element is having second thoughts...that really even now they realize Y2k is nothing?

#2 element = Notice how they're beginning to post about problems and seem to be taking the whole notion of prepping a lot more seriously?

Is it just me or do those two issues seem to indicate schizophrenia on the part of the major media???

I also note Petey de Jaeger is now trying to have his cake and eat it too. He's backing away ever so slitely from his new-found polly religion...known to some as "graft" or "payola" ... I have no use nor respect for anyone like that, who sells out truth for the almight $$.

Anyway... your thoughts??? And do you see any other dichotomies like this?

-- RC (racambab@mailcity.com), December 29, 1999

Answers

R.C. -- #1 "second thoughts"

I mean, how ridiculous! The idea that about the only crisis in history with a fixed date, and you should give up your position of relative safety a FEW DAYS ahead of it, because of -- what? Propaganda and peer pressure? Just shows the power of emotional psychology over rationality.

Emotion exists on both sides, true, but rationality has always said: Unknown risk? Cheap insurance? PREP, PREP, PREP!

-- jor-el (jor-el@krypton.uni), December 29, 1999.


R.C.: You betcha they are changing. The Dallas Morning News is now becoming more serious. The local FEMA told people to prepare for two weeks to a month. Totally different from a month ago.

-- Neil G. Lewis (pnglewis1@yahoo.com), December 29, 1999.

What I've noticed is that the main stream media always polarizes issues such as this. In this case, we have people who don't think Y2K will cause significant trouble versus everybody else. If you're not in the first group you are a kook. This is a result of their laziness. It much easier to report on a two-sided issue.

As we have move closer to the CDC they have talked about the benefits of being prepared for the "three day storm". But never discussing what events might trigger the need for preperation.

This is how you treat children. You tell them just enough to have them prepared as best you can for a difficult moment or event. But, you never tell them all the ugly little truths because they (the children armed with said ugly truths) can't possiblly effect the outcome or the aftermath. We'll the people are not children and the can effect both the outcome and the aftermath.

I choose to be where I am and willing to be responsible and accountable for being both over or under prepared.

-- gary (a@a.com), December 29, 1999.


Mainstream media has been schizophrenic about Y2K since the beginning of March, at the latest. IIRC, Drew Parkhill actually used the word WRT coverage of the US Senate's report back then. I think, rather, that the schizophrenia is manifesting itself differently now.

The mainstream media folks are victims of their own strategy. Government and industry and media have done their best (which has, indeed, been excellent) to prevent the public from thinking about Y2K or, failing that, to think correctly about it.

The mainstream media folks have been caught in the same trap, and don't know what to think, either. Thus, we have an increasing obsession with The Moment of Rollover (as if this is just a clock issue) with little or no forethought to the future (which is necessary because this is also a calendar issue).

-- Lane Core Jr. (elcore@sgi.net), December 29, 1999.


I posted an article a month ago where the writer actually coined a term for it: professionally insane.

-- a (a@a.a), December 29, 1999.


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