2oldman wrote:
valhalla360 wrote:
Decisions have largely been made based on political WILL and the media has been doing everything possible to whip up hysteria and that drives the political will.
Why is it always the media's fault? If Fox news has the viewership they do, then there shouldn't be any hysteria as they're still talking about FISA warrants and bashing Biden.
Media and news are different things.
Presenting information in sensationalist manner is whipping up hysteria.
There are reports of 10% of people will die (the exact percentage is a moving target but the principal holds). Yet when you look at the numbers, it suggests nothing of the kind. The media is presenting numbers that most people don't understand:
- Deaths are pretty reliably counted. Infections measured only take into account those who get a bad case (starting to change as testing is ramping up).
- Deaths are counted as soon as they happen. Recoveries only show up after 2-3 weeks, so early on it makes the death rate look higher.
But the media lead with headlines of 10% will die. If you are lucky, they may mention it way down towards the end article but more often than not, they don't. Most of the general public don't grasp statistics and research methodologies, so they walk away thinking 10% will die.
Way back in highschool, took a journalism class:
- Headline should get the story across.
- First paragraph should highlight the who/what/where/when...in other words, should provide the conclusion...which is not that 10% will die.
- Then the body of the story digs into the details.
So yes, the media is whipping up hysteria in public opinion and politicians are animals that react to public opinion.
