Centerfield

Well said.

I put that view squarely on the shoulders of the media. The do indeed hype up threats to increase ratings, but then never do follow-ups to show why the hype never bore out. Because, you know, nobody wants to see that, right?

I have to agree whole-heartedly there. Like many others, I was heavily involved with the Y2K conversion and it bothers me when people who were NOT involved in the work that was done to make that transition as smooth and successful as possible..chalk the whole thing up to the media promoting un-necessary fear. I also agree that it would have been nice to see some more follow-up on the hard work that the professionals did to make dealing with this legitimate scares much easier. But then again..that kind of news really dosn't make money does it?

Yes..it certainly does strike a nerve.

That's because over the years news has become a profit center in the broadcast business.

"We deal in illusions, man. None of it is true. But you people sit there day after day, night after night, all ages, colors, creeds. We're all you know. You're beginning to believe the illusions we're spinning here. You're beginning to think that the tube is reality and that your own lives are unreal. You do whatever the tube tells you. You dress like the tube. You eat like the tube. You raise your children like the tube. You even think like the tube. This is mass madness -- you maniacs! In God's name you people are the real thing, WE are the illusion.

"So turn off your television sets. Turn them off now. Turn them off right now. Turn them off and leave them off. Turn them off right in the middle of the sentence I am speaking to you now. Turn them off!!"
-- Howard Beale, as played by Peter Finch,

"I'm as mad as hell and I can't take anymore!"

Amen, Bob.

The media works very hard to scare the hell out of you, because that's where the ratings are. The hysterical Chicken-Littleism extends to problems both very real and entirely imaginary, but the media doesn't care all that much which is which, as long as you keep tuning in.

But they don't show you the hard work that goes into preventing problems from becoming real crises, because it's simply not glamorous. There's no ratings there. It's not just federal employees, either. It's also state and local employees and volunteers who bust their butts to be prepared for disaster, and to respond before things get out of hand. Even private industry. Example: Be it blizzard or hurricane or ice storm, power crews from all over the country will converge to get your lights back on, regardless of the weather. Anyone want to climb the poles and play with high-power lines in a blizzard? These folks do.

I certainly didn't mean to slight the state and locals.

But and extra big “HECK YES” goes out the power crews. Driving a utility truck from one end of the country to the other, then doing a 24/7 shift for months, far from home. And all the time practicing a profession that is very dangerous, in floods, rain, ice and snow. There were/are utility crew from just about every state in the union still working on the hurricanes devastation.

Absolutely fantastic post. Thanks for that.

I think the public shares responsibility for why the media focuses on the "hype" of threats and not on the solutions. People were really into what it would mean if Y2K wasn't solved, people don't care about the tedious COBALT programing that went into fixing it.

Ditto what Stephanie said. Excellent post!