waleed007
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- Nov 9, 2011
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Media Fright
In the article “Extreme Reality: How Media Coverage Exaggerates Risks and Dangers” the author John
Stossel describe how the Mass Media exaggerate certain things to startle the viewers. First thing Stossel talk about is television. Everyday crimes and accidents are over- embellish on television. Which make the world seems like an extremely dangerous place to live in. Stossel also talk about Newspapers, which are not much different from television. The Newspapers takes over television job of scarring us to death whenever television fails. Even though television and newspaper are great sources of information and entertainment, I have to agree with Stossel that media can be very dangerous when used for wrong purposes.
First, the problem is not Television it is within us. Watch TV and enjoy it, but do not believe anything you see or hear. I like to stay away from Television as much as possible. Reason behind it, I do not have time or patients. I grew up in a very small village in Pakistan. There was a television set in my house but I only ever bother to turn it on when Sesame Street was on. Some of my friends find it weird when I tell them. One of my very close friend spent majority of his time watching television. I do not know if watching television has turned him into a genius or an idiot. I call him Wikipedia because he has information about almost anything but the information is not always accurate. Television is not a bad thing. Television keeps us updated on what is going on around the world. The movement you start believing is the movement it becomes a problem. As Stossel have mentioned in his article Television can lead to extreme paranoia.
Newspapers publish what they want us to read; Newspapers are selling information’s; it is up to you if you want to buy it or not. Newspapers have been around for a long time. Newspapers have both negative and positive effects on people just like television. Some of the evident positive effects of newspapers are that they can improve reading, writing and communication skills, and at the same time keeps, we updated. The negative, well other than cutting down trees for papers is our trust in newspapers. If you are buying newspapers, they will have influence on you both negative and positive.
Just because someone post online that world is going to end does not mean it really going to end. It is up to each individual what he or she want to believe and what not. Internet is one of the most dominant things in the world today. World Wide Web has become a complete world in itself. It is a market, community and one of the best sources of information. Internet has made life so much easier and faster. People can sit home and work online; anyone can start their own business on the internet. Just like everything else internet have negative effect on society. There are people on internet that want to start trouble. The World has it problem in the past and there will be problem in the future.
Stossel blame mass media for causing public fear and I agree with him. Information spread like a virus once it hit media. Most of the information is help full but at the same time they can be very frightening. That does not mean be should ban the media. Everything has it pros and cons, nothing is perfect. It is up to us to make the right decision. If you cannot tell the difference between right and wrong than the problem is in with you not the media.
Works Cites
Stossel, John. “Extreme Reality: How Media Coverage Exaggerates Risk and Danger.” What Matters in America. Ed. Gary Goshgarian. New York: Pearson, 2011. 150-53. Print.