If its not in the TV newscast, it doesn't exist.

[Carol]

Right now I am dealing with a lot of issues (professionally) that are stemming from an issue that hasn't gotten much ink in the US media.

Unfortunately there is a somebody giving me and another somebody flack for how we're handling the problems. I've tried to explain that we are at a standstill because of this issue.

They don't see this as acceptable because they haven't really heard anything on the news.

So if its not on TV it doesn't exist?

Anyone else know someone like this?

 

[Big Don]

Right now I am dealing with a lot of issues (professionally) that are stemming from an issue that hasn't gotten much ink in the US media.

Unfortunately there is a somebody giving me and another somebody flack for how we're handling the problems. I've tried to explain that we are at a standstill because of this issue.

They don't see this as acceptable because they haven't really heard anything on the news.

So if its not on TV it doesn't exist?

Anyone else know someone like this?

Yes, we all know otherwise seemingly intelligent people who turn out to be DUMB...

 

[Bob Hubbard]

I've had similar arguments concerning local issues that the big paper ignores and the smaller ones cover. If the big one doesn't talk about it it isn't important in some peoples eyes.

Course they also seem to vote on looks, what their friend said and on commercials, not actual reality and research.

 

[theletch1]

Shouldn't really come as a surprise given that we're such a media driven society. We're also lazy as a general rule and it's much easier to allow the newscast to give us our opinion than to form one on our own. It's not too big a leap from there to having the news create our reality for us as well.

"Stand in front of the telescreen." If you get the reference from my quote you'll know where my head is during this post.

 

[jetboatdeath]

Anyone else know someone like this?

Congress?

 

[Ken Morgan]

I know someone who always believed that if it was written in a magazine or newspaper, it had to be true. Including the gossip mags and the National Inquirer. Sad really.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Pro wrestling fans who thought most wrestling mags were real?

 

[Tez3]

I know someone who always believed that if it was written in a magazine or newspaper, it had to be true. Including the gossip mags and the National Inquirer. Sad really.

I've come across that before 'but it was in the papers'! I can see why sometimes actors, pop stars etc do get exasperated with the press when things are printed about them, so many people do believe everything that's in print.
How about the people too that believe the characters in television programmes are real? An actress here was walking with her real husband and children down a street when she was approached by a woman intent on warning her about her screen husband's infidelities. She'd already received letters warning her about her 'husband'! Other characters have lost their screen jobs and the public have written in offering them work. Letters and cards pour in any time theres an accident or a death of character. Anyone who plays a 'baddie' has to watch out too, a well loved female character in a long running soap here had a storyline where her partner tried to kill her, his character ended dead up under a tram in Blackpool but the actor carried on receiving threats and nasty comments for a long time afterwards even when he appeared in other programmes! Reality doesn't seem to get it's nose into these peoples brains at all!

 

[girlbug2]

Recently there's been sort of the opposite tendency at my husband's job. In July they had a meeting regarding new procedures for dealing with disease outbreaks, (specifically the H1N1 virus) and what the contingency plans were if somebody at the company tested positive for H1N1. There's a procedure for alerting every person that the sick person had contact with in the past week prior to symptoms, quarantine for a certain number of days, etc. All very well and good. I asked if this procedure was also mandatory if anybody contracted the regular flu, or maybe something like chickenpox? No, apparently the company only considers the diseases that make the news to be important enough.

That's the criteria-- if it makes the news, it must be important.

 

[MJS]

Right now I am dealing with a lot of issues (professionally) that are stemming from an issue that hasn't gotten much ink in the US media.

Unfortunately there is a somebody giving me and another somebody flack for how we're handling the problems. I've tried to explain that we are at a standstill because of this issue.

They don't see this as acceptable because they haven't really heard anything on the news.

So if its not on TV it doesn't exist?

Anyone else know someone like this?

Sure, there are lots of people like this. I suppose we can look at it from a martial arts point of view as well. How many times have we seen certain people claim that if someone doesnt have a record or tape of something, then it didn't happen? On the other hand, I'm amazed at the number of people like you describe....they seem to be so blindsided to think that the news somehow gets all the facts, and is correct with every 'fact' that they state. *shrug*