Some common sense about the news cycle
Apr. 15th, 2013 11:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nancylebovNick Mamatas explains, with examples that the early reports are likely to include a lot of inaccuracy. Some of it will be honest mistakes, and some of it will probably be motivated by stereotypes.
The thing is, the media wants your attention, and possibly they don't want to seem callous by doing their normal programming.... but the information just isn't there.
I'm speaking to you as someone who freaked after 9/11, and literally spent months reading rasf* newsgroups and listening to NPR. After a while, I realized that NPR was just repeating itself because there wasn't any new news coming in, but I still couldn't pry myself loose. Well, emotions are emotions and depression is depression, but if you can find something else to do instead of hoping for one more crumb of finding out what's going on, I recommend it.
Shira Lipkin passed this on from Colleen Lindsay on Facebook:
The thing is, the media wants your attention, and possibly they don't want to seem callous by doing their normal programming.... but the information just isn't there.
I'm speaking to you as someone who freaked after 9/11, and literally spent months reading rasf* newsgroups and listening to NPR. After a while, I realized that NPR was just repeating itself because there wasn't any new news coming in, but I still couldn't pry myself loose. Well, emotions are emotions and depression is depression, but if you can find something else to do instead of hoping for one more crumb of finding out what's going on, I recommend it.
Shira Lipkin passed this on from Colleen Lindsay on Facebook:
There are a lot of folks out there who weren't at the marathon who will nevertheless have their PTSD triggered by the events in Boston today. If you're feeling scared, anxious, depressed or alone, please reach out to someone who loves you, call a friend, or call the Disaster Distress Helpline (1-800-985-5990), which is monitored 24/7. But don't try to tough it out on your own; remember that asking for help is never a sign of weakness.
