Information from the Mass Media

[Beth Sweet]

Hey there Phil,

Well I find this thread particularly interesting for one reason imparticular. I am currently attending college majoring in broadcast journalism, aka I'm either going to be a newsanchor or a producer in a newsroom.

Why are they doing this emotionally? Because that's what this situation calls for. They aren't giving you straight facts because they don't have them. They have no clue how many people are dead. At all. Don't believe me? Click on this (please don't click if you are exceptionally emotional about this issue, I almost started crying when I saw it). Phil, right now all they have is what those people are going through. They don't have time to take numbers and facts, they're too busy trying to save people from dehydration, starvation, and getting shot on the streets by looters who have stolen guns from local stores and are shooting people for kicks.

You want to know why they're getting the emotional part of this? Because when people see other people in need, hear their stories and see such detrimental, biased images, they're going to give more money and support than if the news media throws a bunch of numbers on the screen.

Yes, it stinks that there aren't straight facts out there, but the fact is, it is not a straight news story, it is a human interest piece. Plain and simple. These people need help. The media has the power to get them said help. End of story.