What is the worst case scenario?
I am often bemused by people’s desire to believe that there is always a more sensational world out there than the one we live in. Today’s xkcd strip is a good tribute to that. I’d also point out the preponderance of statements like “this is the hotest day since. . .” or “this is the lowest the market has been since. . .”, even if the sentence is finished with “yesterday.” That doesn’t give any context, nor does it provide any analysis. But then, perhaps I ask too much of 21st Century media. . .
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I particularly enjoy the media attempts to find news about important issues which have no current news, e.g. Raoul Moat has not been captured yet so they’re running, “What Moat’s mum would say to him if she had to make an appeal” and “The search for Moat has evoked memories of the hunt for Barry Prudom who evaded police for 18 days in 1982.”
My favorite bit of the unsurprisingly enjoyable XKCD: “To get enough Vitamin D, don’t read any blogs and go outside instead.” I do love the rollover! I also love this particular commentary on the infotainment that “keeps” us informed. While I think that National Public Radio does a decent job of keeping the news focused on actual news, even they fall prey to the need to sensationalize things from time to time. I hold out a kernel of hope that someday, the infotainment industry will crumble a bit around the edges. Someday…