The Truth

Update: I had some problems embedding the video but it should be working now.

Sometimes I think I need to be a media watchdog. Television news is so atrociously sensational that almost all of it is yellow journalism (I'm talking to you, Dateline). Television, print, and radio all exist to make money. While there are ethical standards in journalism, one sees very little responsible reporting these days. What happened to caring about the truth? Allow me to humor you with one example from last week:



Oh really? You think it's in the public's best interest to know that a little boy in Mexico who started an "epidemic" is okay and will not die at all? The media throws around scare words such as "epidemic," "pandemic," and "extreme public safety precautions" (9 News isn't guilty of all of these but I have heard them in the last few days). And then the media tells us the real facts, such as no one in the US is dying of this, is close to dying of this, and that most with "swine" flu don't even need to be hospitalized. And you run 3-5 minute introductory pieces on the nightly news running with this story first for two weeks. How am I supposed to conclude anything else but that you are competing for ratings?

You media don't care about the truth. You care about the money. And the ironic thing is, in this case I think the ratings would have followed the truth.

I would have given anything for Adele Arakawa (of Denver's 9 News) to just get on the show and say, "This swine flu coverage is a bunch of bull. You know it. I know it. Let's talk about real issues." I would have been a devoted listener after that.