[lit-ideas] Re: news?
- From: "Andy Amago" <aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 6 May 2005 10:37:38 -0400
If it bleeds it leads is not really bad news. Bad news is in the adage no
news is good news. If it bleeds it leads suggests that humans are at
heart a species that loves to get its jollies at someone's expense. Lyndie
English's smiling face in Abu Ghraib comes to mind.
Regarding people's sense of impotence in the face of abstract threats and
their reliance on unhelpful professional help, I'm wondering if this is the
human condition. Professional help historically took the form of religious
advice. That certainly hasn't gone away.. I would argue that in the big
picture most people today are as factually challenged as at any time in
history. The problem isn't that the facts aren't out there, it's that
people don't want to be bothered with them. Rapture anyone?
Andy Amago
> [Original Message]
> From: John McCreery <mccreery@xxxxxxx>
> To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: 5/6/2005 5:41:55 PM
> Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: news?
>
>
> On 2005/05/06, at 11:45, Andy Amago wrote:
>
> >
> > Ratings, maybe? People don't want to hear bad news.
>
>
> Au contraire. People love bad news=81\so long as it is safely irrelevant =
> =20
> to themselves, something titillating but also agreeably "There but =20
> for the grace of God" (It's so nice to be among the elect). Bad AND =20
> trivial, that's the trick.
>
> John McCreery=
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