Monday, November 14, 2011

Inspired or Terrified? Why I Avoid Fear-Based Journalism

Journalism, whether through newspapers, magazines, television, radio, or the Internet, has power. Power to inspire, to motivate, to change people's lives, and to inform. But sadly, the very stories meant to inspire often leave me uninspired, or worse, terrified.



For instance, I recently borrowed O's Big Book of Happiness from our library. The book, published in 2008, is a compilation of magazine articles originally published in the Oprah Magazine. It's divided into different sections for various areas in our lives. I read the diet/fitness section and loved the articles. They were funny, smart, and full of interesting research. My mood? Happy.

I then read the next several articles and found my happiness plummeting. One article was about a victim who'd been sexually assaulted and warned her town that the man was still at large. Another discussed two women with AIDS who are still alive (but with compromised immune systems) more than twenty-five years after their diagnosis. A woman recounted how as a ten-year-old she avoided being kidnapped by a serial killer. Then another article involving sexual assault, except this time the woman accused the wrong man and sent him to jail for twenty years. From there, the articles headed into bi-polar issues, cancer, more cancer, before settling into the story of a woman who went for a walk one morning and returned home to find all four of her children dead--they'd been killed by her ex-husband.

Don't get me wrong--these articles described women overcoming devastating life events. They were well-written, expertly researched, and meant to be inspirational.

But I didn't find them inspirational. 

Maybe it's my overactive imagination or my sensitivity, but a layer of anxiety settled on me after reading them. I started worrying about my safety, my family's safety, cancer, AIDS, serial killers--you name it. Anything I'd read became very real and very possible in my brain. 

I didn't sleep well, and I decided I've had enough "happiness" from Oprah's book. I'm returning it to the library.

Maybe my idea of happiness is off, but none of those stories made me feel happy. Many years ago, I stopped watching the nightly news for the same reason. I had trouble sleeping, and I worried about tragedies befalling our family.

We're all wired differently. You  might have read the articles and found them not only inspiring, but empowering as well. Not me. Still, my faith keeps me strong. I've never been a Christian who believes bad things only happen to other people. I know God would get our family through any tragedy that could befall us, but I'd prefer to not have the tragedy to begin with.

Does fear-based journalism inspire you? Or are you like me and get unduly terrified after reading about tragedies?

Have a fantastic Monday!

26 comments:

  1. I don't enjoy reading them at all! I know terrible things happen but I don't want to see them constantly in the news and media!

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  2. I don't enjoy reading them at all! I know terrible things happen but I don't want to see them constantly in the news and media!

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  3. When we were going through our four years of unemployment and worry, we got so we wouldn't even watch the world news--it did nothing but depress us and we needed our spirits lifted instead.

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  4. I don't read them very often. And I'm much like you. I don't watch the news. Not necessarily because it makes me nervous or afraid, but because the media likes to focus on the big and the bad and that can get depressing.

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  5. There is so much darkness in the world. I prefer light and laughter. I know the bad happens. I just don't like exposing myself to it on a regular basis. I tend to live in my ivory tower.

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  6. I'm definitely like you. Whenever I read or watch something like that, I have anxiety for a number of days.

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  7. I don't read them often. I really try to stay away from the daily news because it's so frustrating. But I do watch a lot of true crime shows, and I've spent plenty of time worrying about something terrible happening to myself or my family.

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  8. I don't watch the news for the same reason (overactive imagination & sensitivity).

    Right now if I did, I'd probably believing my swollen knee was cancer instead of a cold that decided to travel to my knee (second point proves my overactive imagination).

    Hey, YOU are featured on All "I"s on today--my FB page! :D
    ~ Wendy

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  9. I have a degree in journalism, but I haven't worked for a newspaper. One of the reasons is that I don't like the idea of working readers into a frenzy, freaking them out, or intensifying their fears just to sell papers. I'm a fearful enough person on my own. I don't need the media fueling those fears, which is why I don't watch the news on a regular basis.

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  10. Wonderful post, Jill, and I agree that our mood and attitude can be greatly affected by what we read and see on TV. We ARE wired differntly, as you said, and if something is causing you anxiety, you're right to remove it from your field of vision.

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  11. I'm the same way. I like to read happy stories, with the exception of a thriller or spy story. I don't really watch the news much either because it just makes me sad. It also sort of freaks me out. I start worrying more about my kids, my family, my mom.
    I also appreciate the way people overcome tragedies and think they are inspirational, but I have a hard time reading them.

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  12. I'll watch the news once in awhile to catch up on current events, but I can only take so much before I can feel my blood pressure start to rise and I have to turn the television off for awhile.

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  13. Wow! It looks like I'm definitely NOT alone on avoiding horrible news' stories. Isn't it great that we all are doing something about it, though? Instead of plodding along, watching or reading tragic news on a regular basis, we choose not too--for our sanity's sake!

    Thanks so much for stopping by!

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  14. Don't ever read The Daily Mail in the UK! You'd think the world is about to implode.

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  15. I, too, dislike the sad stories. And anything about animals puts me over the edge. But my media pet peeve, and the thing I think is not only creating confusion, but causing fear and distress? The constant reporting of this study or that study... Then two weeks later a "new" study contradicts the first one. Grr. Whatever happened to JUST THE FACTS?

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  16. I don't watch the news unless I need a weather update. My workplace does a pretty good job of keeping me in the know:)

    And most of the time I wish I didn't know!

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  17. How ironic that supposedly "inspiring" stories created the opposite feeling in you! I avoid local news because it seems to only be about murder and mayhem. I like to take in my news via the old-fashioned newspaper...where I can skim headlines and decide what I want to read and what I want to skip. There is SO, SO much content out there and it's important to monitor that content in a way that suits your needs and not vice versa.

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  18. I don't care for that type of story either. And I don't watch the news if I can avoid it or police shows. I'm just trusting God to keep me safe. He says "fret not." If I watch or read those things, I fret.

    There are many good things to read and watch. That's what I try to do.

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  19. I definitely understand where you're coming from, Jill. I used to be a news junkie, but with my husband deployed overseas, I really can't afford to hear doom and gloom reports about the war. Military notwithstanding, our country is in such a state of despair with record unemployment and politicians cutting each others' throats. I've had to cut back on my media viewing because the veiled hatred and rampant fear going around is too suffocating.

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  20. I totally agree with you. I stopped watching, reading, listening to the news years ago. Once in awhile I drop in to see if the world stopped spinning due to my lack of participation, it has not. I am in charge of PR for an animal shelter and my rule is, no guilt trip, no atrocity stories, no horrifying pictures. We have a loyal following and not one person has complained about the lack of horror in our approach.

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  21. I'm so glad you wrote about this. No, I don't get inspired by fear based journalism. The brutal images are singed in my memory and keep me from being inspired or happy. I'm all about overcoming obstacles, but it's the horrific details I can do without. I feel like I've been beat up after I read some stories and watch the news, so now I just avoid them.

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  22. I need to read about tough subjects, I think. What really gets to me are the articles that try to manipulate me by pushing emotional buttons, or articles that present patently false information as true. And sometimes, yes, I get depressed when I read frightening things. But I still need to do it. Knowledge is helpful.

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  23. I'm exactly like you. Sometimes my hubby even shields me from some news stories because he knows I'll take them to heart or possibly over-react.

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  24. Looks like a lot of people know just what you're talking about here. I know I do. My sister and I were just discussing this recently and she told me she doesn't watch the news anymore. "Neither do I!" I told her. Because if I had to see one more top story about how a poor little girl was missing, presumed dead, and her parents were suspects, I didn't know if I could take it. Stories affect me - whether that's right or wrong, I don't care - it makes a difference. Maybe this is why I primarily read romance. There is so much to take from the reality of this world, sometimes my mind needs a happily ever after. Sometimes I need to be reminded that there are blessings around every corner and I certainly can't do that by watching the news every night :)

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  25. Your opinions matter to me. I love that we're all in tune to what we need--whether we need the details to make sense of the world, or we need to turn the news off to keep our sanity. Thank you all for chiming in on this subject--it's really made me think!

    Thanks so much for stopping by!

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  26. I totally agree! I don't read things like that--or watch the news. Guess I'm too sensitive or whatever, but it really affects me. I have to be careful what movies I watch. And I even stopped reading brief stories of addiction and abuse included with my church's recent Bible study lesson because they were just too horrible--even though the outcome was that people's lives were improved by coming to know God. Other women in my group said the same thing. Too much information!

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