Media Hype

It is well documented that the media will sensationalise events to sell papers and gain viewers, and recently with the wave of Spin Doctors most of the British public have come to view news reports with an air of cynicism. But still great damage has been caused by thoughtless exploitation of negative news by the news media.

Take the tragedy that Boscastle suffered this year; while it was a shocking event that caused great loss and emotional suffering to the businesses and home-owners living there, the media's reckless attitude towards it caused economic damage to Cornwall. Such a drama was made of it that many people cancelled their holidays into the "disaster zone" Cornwall. At the time I was in Gloucestershire and was extremely concerned for my family still here in Cornwall and girlfriend in Delabole, only a few miles away. When I spoke to them on the phone I discovered that the tragedy was very localised, something that most people in the U. K. would have had no idea about.

Take also the Eden Project, recent news reports have claimed that they are losing money at a dramatic rate as their visitor rates fall. The fact that Eden's first few years have exceeded all their projection, and that they are now approaching what they initially anticipated, is totally overlooked.

These are merely two instances of how media hype can adversely affect the general public's perceptions. Why should hard-working business people suffer at the hands of lazy reporters and weeks when the news is slow? I doubt greatly that my words will change the situation, but hope that we can all take what we read and hear with a pinch of salt and check the facts before making rash decisions. After all, we in Britain are renowned for our cynical nature!