So here at the Daily Planet, Editor Perry White (picture the late Lane Smith in the Lois and Clark TV series) assigns the medical desk to research the possible impending pandemic.
Of course, we don't know how serious this swine flu is going to be. So far, it looks like the precautions are a little over-the-top, but I'm not sure I want to get on an airplane right now.
That's the thing, really, when it comes down to our own safety and that of the people we love, we are willing to look a little silly in the name of safety. When we see other people doing it on the television news, we snicker. Human nature.
Is the press exaggerating the epidemic? Quite possibly. There is a certain adreniline rush that comes with a story like this. Does that sound maudlin? Of course it does. Nobody is surprised when the press is callous and unfeeling, cares more about the story than the people injured. But there is a difference between getting a jolt about a story and making the story bigger than it is. Today, there are too many news outlets tripping over each other to tell the story.
No comments:
Post a Comment