So often I've been told that one group of people is tired of all the flood of noise coming from another group.
"We're tired of the Western influence on the world."
"One more elevator piping Muzak and I'm going to explode!"
Having seen from another country the local reporting of international headlines filled with important "news" from my country, I understand only one thing: squeaky wheels.
There are more Chinese Internet users than there are people in the U.S. so why are non-U.S. countries entertaining us with U.S. news rather than news about internal Chinese events?
I say we experiment by only publishing the usual sensational/shocking/negative news about China rather than the U.S. and make the Venezuelas and Irans of the world happy.
Better yet, let's publish the same news about Venezuela and Iran in international headlines all the time - the 24/7 shocking accusations and innuendos about their politicians, athletes and film stars; tantalising hints about debauchery in business deals; "on the street" reports about the hidden poverty, crime and general malaise.
Oh, and occasional "feel good" stories to change the tone/pace of news and keep citizens glued to their TVs, radios, computers, and mobile phones.
After years of hearing how excitingly decadent these countries are, we'll run some polls to determine what global citizens think are the countries with the most ruinous children of Satan.
Or we can agree that news proliferation is proportional to the number of people free to file reports, positive and negative, about countries and events.
Is it a fair system? Certainly not. After all, news sells advertising. Advertisers like news that sells their company image in a positive light.
"A family of eight, after just filling their petrol tank with refined Iranian fuel, wiped out in fiery head-on collision on crowded Venezuelan motorway. More news at 11. Have you considered buying a new automobile lately? Then, Brand X, with its slew of family-friendly safety features, is the way to go. Now, back to your regular programming."
No comments:
Post a Comment