Media frenzies and the lunacy of media

Feeding frenzies of the media about an affair, a disaster or other topic are lasting a maximum of two weeks. Then the topic is dead, news about such a frenzied topic are all of a sudden getting less, disappears from the headlines altogether. And this is what predictably will also happen in the current case of the Japanese disaster. After two weeks at the latest far fewer reports and articles appear to that, some then more casual, on the odd occasion more factual and informative before the topic is dropped altogether. The media will then look out for some other topic they deem worthy of hyping up. And frustrate their remaining audience ever more.

People who prefer to miss out on such frenzies, keep their distance, will again
discover that they haven't missed anything. The value of actual information is
pretty low, often the media have no problems distorting facts intentionally for
whatever stupid reason. That's one the reasons why keeping news consumption
low does not lead to a lack of information or knowledge.

A really good article was just recently published in the Huffington Post about
disaster journalism, giving an insight into the usual modus operandi, how such a
topic is played out.

Contrary to the assumption that such bad news frenzies are selling news, help to
push up readership and audience, the media are losing consumers. One of the
reasons why there are fewer gossip articles, not to mention frenzies about
celebrities like they were the daily usual a couple of years ago is that most media have lost out big time. Most of all in the USA.

A look at number of layoffs at American newspapers tells a story of its own. In
2008 they had 15 992+ layoffs, in 2009 it was 14 783+  jobs and in 2010 the
number was 2 828+ jobs. That's quite remarkable, something the media never
report much about. Their suicide strategies and rather idiotic assumptions about
mankind, what people accept and want, would all become too apparent and the
myths that anything silly, nonsensical and sensational would get a further dent.

In Europe the media "crisis" was less drastic so far, but they are also losing readers and audience. British newspapers for instance are gradually losing readers, and this means the Irish readership included in some of those numbers. The national Sunday papers as well the national dailies are losing readers.