JOH 9/26

Greetings ~

Our last session seemed to be an act of glancing at the covered theorists, with a good deal of interaction between classmates - it was interesting. Something that stuck with me from our discussion was Baudrillard's statement that "The media are part of the event - a part of the terror, and they work in both directions." This quote has the potential for volatility, depending on who is interacting with it.

It seems that THE media has progressively perfected (by some perspective) the art of capturing viewership and ensuring its return. As discussed in class, turn on the evening central Florida news and you will, with great certainty, hear about the tensions, dangers, and general inconveniences of living in this area. Sure, the news stations do try to sprinkle, or lightly dust their presentations with something "feel good," however, even these attempts are recylced and have an insincere glean to them. When it comes to their big hitters, the news stations know they can always count on FEAR.

The news stations are not operating inside a vacuum; they are catering to the tastes and demands of all those who ritually tune in. A decent example of corporate efforts adjusting to meet the new demands of the consumer is the organic initiative in the Walmart universe. So good at giving people what they want - cheap, quick, easy stuff - or as one of our classmates asserted, giving people just what they pay for, Walmart has now rolled out a line of organic food items to cater to the growing desire. Much the same, if the majority of the viewers of local news stations shifted their tastes, from full carnage to a more balanced news menu, eliminating the high-fructose fillers of apartment fires in Palatka and breaking news! reports of an alligator nip on the St. Johns River, the information chefs would create a new, more appealing presentation that would be sure to sell. Product baby.

IF we are what we think about all day long, and what we think about is boy drowns in Ocoee and Stingray safety!, aren't we, the local news audience, driving our attention towards the more refined cuisine of terror? The media does play a role in the terror event, however, who are they feeding? I am not pretending that Baudrillard is working to wake up audiences to their responsibility here - just riffing a bit. Every Friday morning when I drop my daughter off at my mother's house, I ask her the same or similar question: "Mom, just how is watching this news program benefiting your life?" She's pretty tired of that question, rather, she's tired of not having an answer that justifies her attachment to the ritual.