Do we love to hate the media more than we hate that we love it?

 

We often see otherwise average people coddled by the media for having done something trendy deemed newsworthy. It doesn't have to be important or even interesting. They might have a timely blog or they posted a video that went viral. They were in the right place at the right time to witness history: Forrest Gump across the street from The Watergate Hotel during the break in. They get their 15 minutes of fame. People who would have gone unnoticed suddenly have cameras and microphones thrust in front of them. Some of the stories they're connected to are important. But the subjects are ill prepared to express themselves. I don't need to hear from the Man on the Street who happened to be on his cell phone, on a park bench, when the notorious flasher got pinched if the guy didn't see the goods. I want to hear from the woman who fainted and is still unconscious but everyone mistakenly believes she's asleep. The guy on the park bench always sounds like he's been waiting to be heard though. He regurgitates words and phrases that he heard from others like him through the medium that's become his pulpit. TV buzzwords and phrases like "raise awareness" and "you are not alone" as he "speaks out"; useless fashion phrases. His many years watching TV have trained him to manage his 15 minutes. All while the lady who fainted is still there. She picks herself as the camera crew is shooting the B-roll for the flasher story but nobody talks to her. Nothing will change as long as we are dependent upon various media to shape our belief systems. Our belief systems need to be honed beforehand and honed to be skeptical.