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The irresponsibility of our media.

Discussion in 'The Watercooler' started by Stone, Mar 18, 2020.

  1. Stone

    Stone Well-Known Member

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    We are all annoyed at our media in everyday life when they believe it is there job to shove a microphone into someone's face or pressure someone into saying something which they (the media) can then turn into a "story" with their name on it. They have long lost sight of the fact that their job is to "report" news, not "make" news.

    But the irresponsibility of our media goes far higher than annoyance! Ask anyone who ever served in a war on foreign soil; they will tell you that the story we get back here is not even close to reality.

    And now, with the Coronavirus, the media has people in a full blown panic which will undoubtedly lead to the death of elderly from stress and heart attack. While the Coronavirus is nothing to trifle with, our media has created mass-hysteria which has untold numbers of elderly now dealing with a feeling of complete and utter loss of hope. The doom and gloom is a much better story than the fact that the Coronavirus is NOT airborne, it is saliva-borne.

    I hope that somehow, some way, our media can be reigned in and brought back to their true responsibility of "reporting" news!
     
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  2. steel machine

    steel machine Well-Known Member

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    So so so right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Really pisses me off!!!!! Humans have been through viruses before. Some do die, most recover if they get it and some don't get it at all but we have never shut down the damn world. So many people I know are not scared of the virus they are terrified of the financial problems it has caused. I am fortunate in life but have young family member who live paycheck to paycheck and our starting to contact us for $$$$$$ we know we would never get back.
     
  3. Ray D

    Ray D Staff Member Mod Team

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    Venturing dangerously close to getting political. So let's be careful here.

    The "media" isn't some conglomerate with a conspiracy. The real problem is they're all pushing HARD for ratings. "If it bleeds, it leads."

    Couple that with the fact that 90-95% of "news" shows are NOT NEWS. They're opinion/entertainment shows. And yes, that applies to everyone's favorite channel, regardless of political lean. FOX is just as bad as CNN. So now, not only do we have channels pushing for ratings, they're also playing hard to their audience. And so the echo chamber is born.

    And it all gets worse when there isn't anything new to talk about. They need to ramp up some other controversy, real or imagined.

    Don't even get me started on the internet. And worse, how BS there can trickle down to mainstream outlets.

    My solution? Ban all opinion shows. News programs can only report on actual facts. If caught doing otherwise, or offering opinion in any way, they lose their license. We don't need a 24 hour news cycle. Never did.

    But again, it's not some conspiracy or conglomerate with an agenda. Never ascribe to malice that which can easily be explained by stupidity (or incompetence).

    All of that said, this Covid-19 thing IS SERIOUS. It should have been treated seriously from the jump. The issue there isn't the media. It's people being stupid cows and panicking rather than just getting prepared.
     
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  4. strummerfan

    strummerfan Well-Known Member

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    Perhaps you should act responsibly as well. While it’s not technically airborne those little droplets that fly from your mouth when you sneeze or cough do transmit the virus. The WHO is now saying those little droplets can remain airborne longer due to temperature and humidity.
     
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  5. Iowasteeljim

    Iowasteeljim

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    I think we people are just as guilty as the media. Look at how a growing number of people react to what they are fed by media. Even people I consider to be logical lose their s**t when they read or hear something. If we as a collective don't pull our heads out of our 4 corner contacts, things will get worse before they ever get better!
     
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  6. Stone

    Stone Well-Known Member

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    Well said! And if you think the media is helpful and responsible in this pandemic, ask yourself why they have had no coverage of these facts?

    Some GOOD NEWS.
    Which you won't hear from most media outlets...

    - China has closed down its last coronavirus hospital. Not enough new cases to support them.

    - Doctors in India have been successful in treating Coronavirus. Combination of drugs used: Lopinavir, Retonovir, Oseltamivir along with Chlorphenamine. They are going to suggest same medicine, globally.

    - Researchers of the Erasmus Medical Center claim to have found an antibody against coronavirus.

    - A 103-year-old Chinese grandmother has made a full recovery from COVID-19 after being treated for 6 days in Wuhan, China.

    - Apple reopens all 42 china stores,

    - Cleveland Clinic developed a COVID-19 test that gives results in hours, not days.

    - Good news from South Korea, where the number of new cases is declining.

    - Italy is hit hard, experts say, only because they have the oldest population in Europe.

    - Scientists in Israel likely to announce the development of a coronavirus vaccine.

    - 3 Maryland coronavirus patients fully recovered; able to return to everyday life.

    - A network of Canadian scientists are making excellent progress in Covid-19 research.

    - A San Diego biotech company is developing a Covid-19 vaccine in collaboration with Duke University and National University of Singapore.

    - Tulsa County's first positive COVID-19 case has recovered. This individual has had two negative tests, which is the indicator of recovery.

    - A coronavirus tracker put up by Johns Hopkins University of Medicine shows that more than 73,000 people worldwide have recovered from Covid-19 so far.

    - Plasma from newly recovered patients from Covid -19 can treat others infected by Covid-19.
     
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  7. Stone

    Stone Well-Known Member

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    Just to put things in a little perspective, 80,000 people died in the US in the winter of 2017-2018 from the plain old flu. Thus far, 155 people have died in the US from Coronavirus.

    Why doesn't the media tell us this to ease our minds a bit?

    https://www.statnews.com/2018/09/26/cdc-us-flu-deaths-winter/
     
  8. santeesteel

    santeesteel

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    A cruise ship just docked here in San Diego and no one aboard tested positive!
     
  9. Stone

    Stone Well-Known Member

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    To further put the media's irresponsibility into perspective, imagine if our law enforcement professionals were rewarded for popularity/ratings like the media is?

    Police would focus their time on things which did little or nothing to "Protect and Serve", but just to gain popularity; mass-hysteria would soon follow.....sound familiar?
     
  10. Diamond

    Diamond Well-Known Member

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    Fox news and trump was saying this pandemic was a hoax for 2 months while the rest of the media was reporting the facts, stay in the bubble stone and you will be the one uninformed.....
     
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  11. Ray D

    Ray D Staff Member Mod Team

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    Apples and oranges, dude. You're talking about statistics for an entire year vs. 6 weeks. And we're not even close to peak infections yet. With the most conservative death rate estimates of Covid-19, if we have the same infection rate as seasonal flu, we're looking at over 200K deaths best case.

    Sure, the Steelers had 8 losses last year, but the Patriots have 33 losses going back to 2010, so clearly the Steelers had the better season... :shrug:

    Let's HOPE we're all going overboard, and when the smoke clears, this only amounts to the regular flu. Sadly. if all of these measures have the desired effect and the curve flattens so our health care system can stay ahead of the disease and treat people with quality care, it'll LOOK like we overreacted. But it'll only look like that because we did act.

    No. We don't want people panicking. But we also don't want them acting foolishly and spreading this around wantonly.
     
  12. strummerfan

    strummerfan Well-Known Member

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    the media talks about deaths from influenza a and b every single year. You ****ing heard about it from the media, but claim they don’t report it.
     
  13. Stone

    Stone Well-Known Member

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    The point of the numbers I showed weren't mean to be conclusive but to point out the simple matter of fact that our media will only present the doom and gloom side rather than point out "all" the facts until we CAN look back at this.
     
  14. Ray D

    Ray D Staff Member Mod Team

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    That is all encouraging news. And I have seen all of these reports in usual media. Granted, not with the same amount of fervor.

    But a couple nits:

    China and South Korea are doing remarkably well because they acted decisively. Testing and containment/isolating works.

    Italy's death rate is so poor because they're skewing much older (and a large majority are heavy smokers). But their INFECTION rate is so high because they made so many mistakes early on. Mistakes I'd rather we don't make.

    Keep in mind, any vaccine made today will still take a year before it's widely available unless certain testing requirements are lifted. That may open another can of worms.
     
  15. Stone

    Stone Well-Known Member

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    And the media talks about Coronavirus every second of single every day! Thanks for proving the point:thumbs_up:
     
  16. Stone

    Stone Well-Known Member

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    Let's not confuse prudence with sensationalism.
     
  17. Ray D

    Ray D Staff Member Mod Team

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    Absolutely. We don't need to be making this look like we're at the beginning of "28 Days Later" or "The Andromeda Strain." :lolol:

    But with a large percentage of our population being stubborn and ignoring advice, some are getting a bit shrill or naggy about it. I'm not going to criticize that. This is the time to err on the side of caution.
     
  18. strummerfan

    strummerfan Well-Known Member

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    Your point was that the media doesn’t report deaths. That is 100% wrong. I refuted your bs. I sure as hell didn’t make it for you. In regards to your list of facts. Whoever put that list together for you got their information from... wait for it... from the media.


    It’s mind blowing.
     
  19. Stone

    Stone Well-Known Member

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    How about if I state what my point was.....again.....OUR MEDIA IS IRRESPONSIBLE!
     
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  20. strummerfan

    strummerfan Well-Known Member

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    You can say it as much as you want. However, every single piece of evidence you point to is easily refutable. As always you “it’s the media” people can’t see the forest from the trees. You make these claims that they don’t do x,y,z yet you learned about x,y,z from the media.
     
  21. Stone

    Stone Well-Known Member

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    You're right, I should have been more clear. I learned it from looking it up on line.

    OUR TV MEDIA IS IRRESPONSIBLE
     
  22. santeesteel

    santeesteel

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    Like buying up every sheet of toilet paper?
     
  23. strummerfan

    strummerfan Well-Known Member

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    if you’re referring to Hannity, Limbaugh et al that for the last two months claimed it wasn’t a big deal, they’re just trying to impeach potus blah blah And have since done a 180 and changed their tune then you would be correct. Truly irresponsible to politicize what was clearly a big deal. You don’t quarantine and area that contains 60 million people for laughs.
     
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  24. Ray D

    Ray D Staff Member Mod Team

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    Exactly. Or hoarding food, but especially the wrong food. I've seen people buying 15 gallons of milk. They know it goes bad in 2 weeks, right? Even if you freeze it, that's a lot of freezer space better utilized by actual food. Or 20 loaves of bread, FFS. Bread should be the least of your priorities.

    And SO MUCH bottled water. You know your taps still work, right? Unless you live in Flint, Michigan anyway.

    It's not hard. Rice, dried beans, canned goods, oatmeal, peanut butter, frozen veggies and fruits, meat, pasta, instant potatoes, flour, some extra sugar and salt. Maybe some luxury items like tea and coffee. Get enough to last 2 weeks. Then add a little at a time per trip until you have enough for a month. Frankly, people should do this ANYWAY.

    And all of that is to supplement your weekly/bi-weekly order. It's for emergencies. Eat fresher food until you need it.

    But to run out and try to hoard 2 months worth in one shot? Irresponsible. Foolish. Wasteful.

    A gallon of bleach can last you almost a year if you dilute it properly for household disinfecting. No need to buy 10 gallons. Regular ass bar soap works just fine for washing your hands. You don't need 3 cases of hand sanitizer.

    And STOP with the masks and gloves!!! Our health care providers need all they can get.
     
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  25. santeesteel

    santeesteel

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    and eggs. Unless you're making omelettes for the whole neighborhood! The things that get hoarded! I had a hard time finding fresh garlic for a week!? I made up my own hand sanitizer this morning. It's just 2 parts rubbing alcohol to 1 part aloe.
     
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