Tip for following the latest on "swine flu"

[dem629]

Watch the 24-hour "news" (:eyes:) channel of your choice. Remember to get very nervous and concerned. You should remain in this state of borderline panic until there's a car chase or a celebrity enters rehab.

Thank you for watching the MSNBC/CNN/FOX hype of the week.

[Dragonfli]

1. AND DUCT TAPE! FOR GOD'S SAKE DON'T FORGET THE DUCT TAPE!!!

[tekisui]

2. And, don't you dare have any compassion for people dying in other

countries.

Why the hell do people get bent out of shape for others following a news story.:shrug:

[dem629]

4. Consider your compassion well advertised.

My point is that people tend to get in a panic over these things, before there's any call for it, and it's because of the 24-hour "news" channels.

In a rush to fill all that time, they'll cover anything sensational. It's the same reason people think the world is worse off now than it was 50 years ago. It's not. We just know about things almost instantaneously, and mostly these are things we don't need to know.

Why do people get bent out of shape when someone posts about media hype?

[tekisui]

8. I agree with your assessment of the 24 hour cable new$

I don't have cable and don't watch tv, so I don't see how they are handling it. I don't doubt they are sensationalizing it to the extreme. I follow the reports online, so I value what comes across DU from the wire services.

I am sure it has a different feel from the tv.

[luvspeas]

3. hahahahahahaha

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Spider Jerusalem]

5. Top story for BBC, Guardian, etc. just now.

The BBC is hardly Fox News. And 70 death out of 1000 known cases is very bad indeed. This virus has also spread very rapidly, thanks to air travel. It's not only major news, it is possibly a serious public health threat; people shouldn't panic over it, but they shouldn't ignore it either.

[dem629]

7. I just went to the BBC site.

Their top story is about the election in India.

But I do see a story there about the pandemic hype. I'm sure they did the same thing with SARS, the bird flu, shark attacks, and every other sensationalistic story they could hang on to for a few days.

[Mike 03]

6. Better tip: The CDC's website. The Center for Disease Control

only posts confirmed cases.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

9. That's better than the people following it on Twitter. n/t

[dem629]

10. Ha ha. Twitter. I'm starting to see Twitter links here. The end is near.