"In its purest form, a newspaper consists of a collection of facts which, in controlled circumstances, can actively improve knowledge. Unfortunately, facts are expensive, so to save costs and drive up sales, unscrupulous dealers often 'cut' the basic contents with cheaper material, such as wild opinion, bullshit, empty hysteria, reheated press releases, advertorial padding and photographs of Lady Gaga with her bum hanging out. The hapless user has little or no concept of the toxicity of the end product: they digest the contents in good faith, only to pay the price later when they find themselves raging incoherently in pubs, or – increasingly – on internet messageboards." -- Charlie Brooker
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/22/charlie-brooker-newspapers-dangerous-drug
That sounds spot-on to me.
Good example is the latest virus scam. What is it 1HNYN (something like that), you would swear the world was ending!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. I've never heard of meow-meow, but I can spot bullshit a mile away.
ReplyDeleteBtw, sometimes I fondly reminisce and miss the immaturity and lack of responsibility associated with the pause button.
My life has been on pause for decades. Sometimes rewind, too.
ReplyDeleteInformation is a hot product these days and it often seems that it doesn't matter whether it's good or bad information.