Megalomaniac Media

So I heard about the riots in England via friends on Facebook. It was puzzling to me because I hadn’t heard anything on CNN, MSNBC, or FOX (the latter of which I don’t often watch for my own reasons).  I literally had to go to the BBC website just to find out what was going on – only to discover it was pretty widespread. And yet the U.S. news media has barely given it a mere mention. I find this disturbing. Not because I want 24/7 coverage of rampaging youths being destructive just because they can be, but rather I feel like important events are being concealed from me. I, being an educated woman, would like to know what’s going on in the rest of the world. I think being informed is a good thing. Plus – that particular event is no small thing. We’ve given earthquakes and tsunamis more mention. Again, I’m not saying I want the media to dwell on crap like this, but just give us a briefing. That is their job, isn’t it?

Instead what I saw when I watched the morning and nightly news were overpaid news anchors, all of which are likely making six figures, lamenting about our decreased credit rating, the falling stock market, and our pathetic politicians and their whiny ass, thoughtless, naive plans for our future. Because we all know the United States is the center of the universe and we’re just so awesome we only care about ourselves. Guess what USA? Get over your damn selves!  Waaa! So our credit rating was lowered. That’s what happens when you vote douche-bags into office. So the stock market blows! I guess capitalism isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. ::shrug:: Not that I’m anti-capitalism. I’m not. I like making a comfortable living myself (even if that means working two jobs) just because the ideas of starvation and being homeless don’t set well with me.

Back on point – there’s a reason I changed my major from journalism to English all those years ago. I couldn’t ethically justify reporting sensationalism. That is what my university journalism program taught, and judging by the modern news media, that’s what other universities are teaching, too.  Only report what is sensational and what will draw in ratings. Evidently we all want to watch our drowning economy?

Not to mention our news media is so skewed anymore. Want an exclusively conservative viewpoint? Watch FOX news. Want a completely liberal viewpoint? Watch MSNBC.  Sadly, when I want objectivity I usually check out the BBC or Associated Press.  CNN is still liberal, but not nearly as “bleeding heart” as MSNBC. Even then – they’re just waxing semantic on the economy too. Yeah – the economy sucks. We all know it.  This information hasn’t been a secret since the Bush administration folks! That’s when we sprung the leak and sent the guys with buckets to start bailing water (don’t you remember?)! We don’t need the news channels to sit around discussing our financial failings to death. We’re beating a dead horse here. The real story, IMHO, would be when some jackass comes up with an idea to jump-start the economy, or when there’s significant change (for better or worse). And even then, it’s worth maybe 10 to 30 minutes (tops) of my time. Not 24/7.  Beyond that — move on! I want to know WTF is going on in the UK, Western Europe, Australia, South America, Mexico, Canada, Russia, China, and Asia. I do. We can no longer allow ourselves or our culture to be ethnocentric or self-centered. It’s a global economy and social networking has made social interaction a global thing, too. I have friends all over the world. I want to know what’s going on and if the media isn’t going to tell us – that is a form of censorship IMHO, possibly even social engineering to some degree.  It also goes to show that it’s up to each of us, indvidually, to stay informed so we can make educated decisions and choices.