Yesterday, Caveat posted a great article titled Media Fear Tactics. The article, written by Dr. Gavin De Becker is a great look at some of the words and terminology used by mainstream media to create fear.
Here is the overarching purpose of the article:
"Given the distrubing reasons we've all been watching so much TV news, it would be understandable to overlook the sheer ridiculousness that is inherant in some of the sensationalism. Occassionally, the way TV news is delivered can be downright funny..."
De Becker goes on to explore the humorous and misleading use of words like "possible", "shocking" and "links". I also particularly like the definition of the phrase "officials admit" and "will not be forgotten".
Coincidentally, De Becker concludes with an example story about a dog attack. It's a great read.
Over the next few days, I'll show another couple examples of this type of fear-mongering and the negative affects this type of media sensationalism has had on policies in this country.
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