more on Flight Risk

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Nathaniel Borenstein <nsb () guppylake com>
Date: July 16, 2004 9:04:16 AM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: [IP] more on Flight Risk

It's worth noting that this problem predates -- and is far deeper than 
-- fears in response to 9/11.  Television, in particular, has a long 
established pattern of fear-mongering to promote ratings.  (Think of 
all the teaser promos for tonight's local news:  "You may be in grave 
danger from something you've never thought about, but we won't mention 
any details right now to make sure you worry even if you already knew 
about it.  Details at 11!)

A few years back, if I recall, a pretty reputable-seeming study claimed 
that Americans' level of fear and anxiety was directly proportional to 
the amount of TV they watched.  The more TV you watch, it seems, the 
more dangerous you think the world is, but newspapers and radio don't 
seem to have that effect.

The bottom line:  Turn off your TV, and listen to NPR or the BBC.  It 
may not make the world a better place, but it sure will seem like it 
does.-- Nathaniel

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