We Are in The Midst of a “Lack of A Crisis” Crisis!

We Are in The Midst of a “Lack of A Crisis” Crisis!
(or Crisis, Crisis, Who Stole My Crisis?)

Once upon a time television news, especially the major networks, were a trusted source of news and considered “must see TV” to find out what is going on in the world. Then of course came Cable TV and we were introduced to the concept of 24 hours news telecasts (but in truth they stopped the new news at midnight and picked up again around 6 A.M. Figuring nothing much happens during that time frame, and most people would be asleep anyway, so it really wasn't 24 hours). For the longest time these telecasts were of good quality, but then for some unknown reason, the heads of these networks decided that news should be entertaining. This was the beginning of the downward slide we see today. They dumbed down the newscasts and forced peppy preppy cheerleader newsreaders upon us. Luckily this came about the same time as the Internet was opened to the rest of us (originally it was the domain of researchers and academics) and we found we didn't have to put up with the brain dead newsreaders anymore. So ratings were falling off, advertisers were leaving the stations (or at least demanding to pay less for there advertising), and people were finding new ways of getting their news.

So how did these stations react? Easy make every little problem into a CRISIS!

Have you ever noticed how almost everyday we are involved, according to the nightly news readers, in a brand new crisis that threatens to end life as we know it? Only to have these stories being one off, and not only not the end of civilization, but just an isolated incident? How can these so-called “purveyors of truth” keep their jobs after all their lies? Why do people take it and not demand more truth in reporting of the news? Or is it no one is really watching anymore and so it all falls on deaf ears?

Of course when one station (they seem to rotate the announcing), announces a crisis, they all immediately follow suit (like lemmings to the seas) so as not to look like they are not “on the ball”. Then they all take turns trotting out the various “experts”, who for the most part sound as brain dead as the newsreaders interviewing them. Very little insight is ever given and each crisis seems to last about 4-7 days before the next one crops up without the previous one being solved, and mostly forgotten (until maybe next year if it is something cyclical like weather or price of gasoline/food/school supplies) by the stations ans for some reason, totally out of the blue the crisis seems to solve itself, as we find that the world is still here and life goes on.

Whew, I thought the lack of Okra crisis was going to get us for sure this time around.

Oh but it may be the snow crisis in Minnesota in January that will end civilization for ever. No? How about the er...uhm... what's next on the agenda?



Mahalo