Does the media largely exaggerate how much "terror" there is going on in the world?

[Taoway]

When I see newspapers and reflect on the time we're in I feel terrified. Like its all leading to something horrible.

 

But then I look back to 500 or a thousand years ago and times were far worse. I understand we are now a more civilized world and it becomes a suprised to hear of uncivilized events but still.. the media fear mongers to the end of the earth don't they?

 

I mean we're 10000x better now then if we were in the dark ages. Or all being buried alive with our Chinese emperor.

[Marblehead]

Yes, based on the world's news media it seems that is falling apart.  But as you pointed out, things are not as bad, historically, as they have been during most of man's history.

 

I do believe that the world is becoming a colder place spiritually but I don't know much about spirituality.

[EmeraldHead]

Exactly what have you seen that is terrifying the newspapers?  The truly terrifying stuff is not public...never...right now in africa someone else is being...right now another child is molested...right now or soon in some old church virgins are who knows whats happening to them... the media doesnt tell you anything.

[blackstar212]

I have not read the papers or watched the news for about 2 years now. I have virtually no stress in my life. People at work ask how I know what is going on in the world? My reply is I just go outside and look.

 

Now sometimes I know things because people at work talk or ads pop while I am searching online or sometimes commercials on TV  or the radio interrupt what I am watching so I am not totally out of the loop. I am hoping that I will not know who wins our upcoming election.

[Marblehead]

 I am hoping that I will not know who wins our upcoming election.

Oh, believe me, that is one thing that won't leave you alone.

[thelerner]

News is secondary to the business of selling papers.  Thus- it bleeds it leads.. sadly.  Cause that what moves copy. 

[Aetherous]

The news media exists solely to get attention on itself, because it only exists through subscriptions or else advertisements which depend us viewing it. The more that our attention is going elsewhere in large numbers, the harder they'll try to stay afloat by putting ridiculous stuff in our faces that cause us to react.

The racism stuff in the news in America is definitely exaggerated. It fires people up.

Reports of terrorism seem to me to be pretty fairly reported. It's not exaggerated. The threat is actually real, although small enough to not truly impact our daily lives...until it does.

[Nungali]

Not here they dont . They made a law that media can be jailed if they expose the governments terrorism in Australia and reveal to the world what an actual bunch of ****s we are .

 

But the media is fighting back  ....   and exposing it .

 

Like this ;

 

 

 

 

Monday 25 July 2016 - Australia's Shame

It almost defies belief but right here in Australia there is a prison system that locks up 10 year olds and places children as young as thirteen in solitary confinement.

"This is barbarism, this is inhumane, this is child abuse."Lawyer

Children have been confined to an isolation wing with no access to sunlight or running water.

"Those cells were ghoulish, they were something medieval."Lawyer

Some held for weeks on end, deprived of basic necessities.

"We all sort of looked at each other in shock... there were signs of life in there but we didn't know who was in there or what was happening, or how long they'd been there." Lawyer

Deprived of hope.

"What's going on with children in detention here is a deliberate, punitive, cruel policy." Lawyer

On Monday night Four Corners reveals the shocking truth about the treatment of children behind bars, where young offenders have been stripped naked, assaulted and tear gassed.

"They had absolutely nowhere to run...Those children were afraid for their lives." Children's Advocate

Held by a system that seems bent on breaking children instead of reforming them.

"If I treated my children like that, the authorities would take my children from me quite properly because I would be behaving cruelly to them." Lawyer

This confronting investigation with send shockwaves around Australia.

 

http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2016/07/25/4504895.htm

[Nungali]

... double post ...

Edited July 27, 2016 by Nungali

[Jim D.]

The media did not exagerate the Vietnam War. They were right there showing the U.S. what was going on.

[liminal_luke]

A great deal of what is reported in the media is true.  And yet exposing oneself to the media will give a person a very distorted view of the world.  You might think that the only things going on are crime, terrorism, and major league sports.  Life is so much more.

[Jim D.]

Early on my mentor advised me that he did not watch the news or read the newspaper because it was negative. I followed his lead.

[vonkrankenhaus]

All media exists to influence people.

 

Even "Modern Art" in USA was determined by the CIA.

 

 

 

 

 

-VonKrankenhaus

[Aeran]

The media has a strange way of both understating and overstating the amount of conflict and trouble in the world. On the one hand, incidences are clearly unreported on a statistical level - for every Nice or Orlando, there are a dozen such similar attacks which are not reported in the Western media, simply because they didn't happen in the Western world to Western people. The same goes for a multitude of other atrocities. So in this sense, it could be said that they under report these issues. If they didn't, they wouldn't have enough hours in the day to report on every horrible thing that happened somewhere in the world.

 

On the flip side, until the development of the modern TV news cycle, people simply weren't exposed to most of the atrocities which took place in the world. For most of human history, our understanding of what took place in the world was on a much smaller scope - limited to what happened to ourselves, those in our social circles or our local area. People generally weren't exposed on a daily basis to the fear that they were under some kind of threat (and certainly not such a wide variety of them).

 

So we turn on the news, and we see all these horrible things happening. And we feel a clear dissonance between this and our daily experiences, simply because we hear about these things constantly, but are rarely, if ever, exposed to them. But a level of fear is still instigated, which is of course the goal of the news services - to induce fear so that we feel the need to constantly watch for more information with which to protect ourselves.

[Karl]

All media exists to influence people.

 

Even "Modern Art" in USA was determined by the CIA.

 

 

 

 

 

-VonKrankenhaus

I would say that yours is the most pertinent comment. Not what is being reported, but what narrative are we being sold. It's quite true that modern art and the turn up/tune in/drop out scene was CIA fronted. Aldous Huxley didn't completely imagine Brave new World, he had a template, because he was involved in the CIA operations as an adviser. The media news is tied to the opinion polls and they manipulate the data and wording to tilt the table whichever way the Government wants. Any news outlet that refuses to play the game, or any reporter that can't be bought/manipulated is refused access to the law makers.

 

The world is never more dangerous than when the media are telling us everything is fine, when they start spouting off about something dangerous happening you can guarantee the Government is wanting to mobilise its troops, increase spending on arms/surveillance/police, justify a new law, or like in the recent Florida murders, change a law.

[Nungali]

A great deal of what is reported in the media is true.  And yet exposing oneself to the media will give a person a very distorted view of the world.  You might think that the only things going on are crime, terrorism, and major league sports.  Life is so much more.

 

Yep .... I was doing all that .... then this news came out    

[Nungali]

Early on my mentor advised me that he did not watch the news or read the newspaper because it was negative. I followed his lead.

 

Lets hope a negative tornado isnt heading your way . 

[Nungali]

When I first left the city and escaped to this area I turned on the local radio station : 

 

< music >  .......

 

DJ ; " Mrs Wheelan of Myrtle St has rung in. She  seems to have lost Benjie her cat, he has been gone all morning. If any one has seen Benjie wandering around town please call the radio station and  ...  " 

 

 

.... and a smaller nearby town has a newspaper that is still printed on 

 

" The paper continues to be produced by a hot-metal typesetting, printed on a Heidelberg Zylinder Automat press, and is the last known newspaper in Australia to be produced by these means. " 

 

 

[Brian]

http://www.blackmountainnews.com

[Brian]

I see that Warren Wilson College runs a unique farmer's market.....

It's an unusual school!

[Stosh]

The media has a strange way of both understating and overstating the amount of conflict and trouble in the world. On the one hand, incidences are clearly unreported on a statistical level - for every Nice or Orlando, there are a dozen such similar attacks which are not reported in the Western media, simply because they didn't happen in the Western world to Western people. The same goes for a multitude of other atrocities. So in this sense, it could be said that they under report these issues. If they didn't, they wouldn't have enough hours in the day to report on every horrible thing that happened somewhere in the world.

 

On the flip side, until the development of the modern TV news cycle, people simply weren't exposed to most of the atrocities which took place in the world. For most of human history, our understanding of what took place in the world was on a much smaller scope - limited to what happened to ourselves, those in our social circles or our local area. People generally weren't exposed on a daily basis to the fear that they were under some kind of threat (and certainly not such a wide variety of them).

 

So we turn on the news, and we see all these horrible things happening. And we feel a clear dissonance between this and our daily experiences, simply because we hear about these things constantly, but are rarely, if ever, exposed to them. But a level of fear is still instigated, which is of course the goal of the news services - to induce fear so that we feel the need to constantly watch for more information with which to protect ourselves.

Excellently put.

[futuredaze]

Media will try to sway us using emotions.  Therefore, some media would be in advantage to exaggerate the threat since it 1) gets them more views, and 2) persuades people to hold a certain opinion.  Some media would be an advantage to downplay the threat, usually just by not talking about it, since it persuades people to hold a certain opinion that is advantageous.

[Jim D.]

Media surely worked the Twin Tower 9/11 tragedy.

[thelerner]

I read this and believe it:  The more extreme one is, the more bias'd one sees the media.  So right wing and left wing people wil both see (and show studies to prove) the media as bias'd against them, and extremist see it as conspiratorial. 

[Karl]

I read this and believe it:  The more extreme one is, the more bias'd one sees the media.  So right wing and left wing people wil both see (and show studies to prove) the media as bias'd against them, and extremist see it as conspiratorial.

 

Oh those extremists and their crazy conspiratorial ideas. ;-)