Recently, I was going through some emails in my inbox that had been sitting for awhile until I had time to check them out. They were the ones that start with the 'Forward' sign, letting the reciever know right away..."I didn't write this, I'm just passing it on." Those sit in my inbox until I'm ready to look at them, and most of them get deleted after I have my chuckle. Occasionally I will pass it on to the next person that I think will enjoy them.
On that day I read a really wonderful story about a baby hippopatumus that had taken up with a tortoise. This hippo had survived a tsunami, but was left an orphan. The pictures that accompanied the story are precious. And the end of the story goes into the usual moralizing about how people should take a lesson from how well animals from different species get along.
I love those animal stories. They are sweet, uplifting, and very touching. I can skip the moralizing. I get it. I don't need someone to spell it out for me. But this time as I was reading it a different thought came to mind. I started thinking about one of my pet peeves; 24 hour news. The idea behind 24 hour news may have been good, but with the addition of instant connectivity to the world, I think it has invited a number of newer issues.
One result of our instant connection to the world is the new awareness we have of events taking place everywhere. An earthquake in Chili, a flood in Georgia, a tornado in Kansas, and a mudslide in California.... sometimes it's one right after another, making us wonder if the world is coming to an end. War in Afghanistan, Terrorism in England, Unrest in Iran... we may go for weeks with little major news, and then be bombarded by event after event, and we wonder if there is any hope for people to get along. That may be a result of our connectedness, but the 24 hours news makes it a constant bombardment. The media fixates on an event, and as a result, so do we.
What does this have to do with those cute animal stories? They show up on YouTube and get passed around on spam email. Once in awhile they show up as a 'wonderful story to share with you' at the end of the Friday night news or in passing on Good Morning America. The unfortunate thing is that they aren't that rare! There are alot of these great stories showing animals of different species that care for each other. If we can feel as if the world is in serious trouble when we hear the non-stop coverage of troubling events, maybe we would feel hope if we could hear these delightful stories just as often.
I understand the human need for conflict. Any good writer knows that tension is needed to keep the reader going. Tension, conflict, climax, resolution. The problem is that the daily news focuses on the tension and conflict. They down play the climax and resolution. The bad news of the day may not have resolution, but we can offer hope in the news by letting people hear the good news stories, not just in the last 5 minutes, but as an integral part of the the daily news.
The good stories can get boring when we hear them too often, I know. Even so, we don't hear them enough. They are news worth sharing.
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You and I both agree with the pitfalls of having news reported on a 24 hour basis. When we were kids, news was at 6 - 7 p.m., then 11 - 11:30 p.m., with more light news being reported during the morning snows. That was pretty much it.
ReplyDeleteYet -- like you, I do see the reason behind having news made available 24/7. Not everyone is "available" to watch the news at those prescribed hours, and our 24 hour schedule allows those people to get the news when it is convenient for them. Same with the weather channel.
However, you have people who've taken a good thing and (in my opinion abused it. It created "News (even weather) Junkies". They actually WATCH the stuff 24/7. (Well -- maybe that is an exaggeration, but I've got a husband.... Ok -- let's not GO there in detail, but I think you know I'm living this....
Because of "said retired husband" (who is home now - all day - to watch the news!), I've been privy to this news bombardment -- non stop, and I am "Exhibit A" for how it can mess with one's "sunny disposition".
Basically they repeat and repeat again - updating as the story evolves. In the past, we were more patient and waited til 6 to get whatever they had then. And - it is the best way I know to bring on societal hopelessness from hearing all the tough things that are reported - - non stop.
Ok ... could we not give over even 1/8 of that 24 hour time frame - interspersed throughout the day - to these uplifting things?? We'd need reporters whose job it is to scout those things out. And, the by product of hearing this might bring on a more hopeful societal attitude inspiring people to do some of that good, themselves. Good begets even more good, bringing about even more uplifting things to report.
Pipe dream - - but maybe not. :)
Sorry for the long comment. Your entries really provoke lots of thought - and - I have never been known to be short of words.... Ha -- I know -- that is an understatement. *g*