where do you get your info?

The following facts were bullet-pointed on a 6am Denver local news broadcast today:

- The US dollar reached a record low

- Crude oil hit a record high

- More job cuts than any point in the past 5 years

- All-time high number of foreclosures

It should be said that I have no personal issues with the dissemination of relevant information, however, the process leaves me overwhelmingly curious: In the pursuit of knowledge, have we created a reality completely lacking in realism? Agenda-setting is very much a part of society, but what if we could remove this ‘x’ factor and get a look at the perception we create for ourselves? I can’t decide if these circumstances would be terrifying or blissful.

Features like the aforementioned fact list do inform us, but it would be interesting to know the extent to which they influence us, as well. Being hit with four consecutive screens, all featuring claims on the disastrous nature of our economy is not something I turn away from and thoughtlessly continue on with my day. Although the state of the American economy has little to no bearing on my own personal financial situation, it still leaves me with the feeling that I need to be saving more in my personal accounts. If I feel this way, then certainly there are others that were similarly affected. So, if Americans aren’t spending money, and therefore the economy is suffering, and we’re being warned about it in a way that makes us want to save more [that is, to spend even less], then the economy will continue in its downward spiral; when does it end?

In the summer of 2006 there was a ‘shark scare’ phenomenon that led to the closing of many beaches in the US as well as Australia. The scare was even made into a CBS movie, Spring Break: Shark Attack. The shark sightings were on the news more often than not. It was later noted that the origin of the season-long scare was a single shark attack, reported on a local news broadcast and picked-up nationally due to a lack of filler; this led to additional stories on “sightings” – not attacks – and ultimately to the closing of beaches and cancelation of vacations. The report later surfaced that the actual number of shark attacks in 2006 was down from previous years. How’s that for agenda-setting?

The influence of the news on our every day is inevitable; for this reason, I think I’ll take a shot at being mildly proactive and bring a magazine to the gym rather than stare at the 20 plasmas during popular newscast hours.