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Originally Posted by scaeagles
Scary news gets better ratings.
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You're precisely right. "If it bleeds, it leads." is not just a joke, it's seriously how news operates.
One time at the TV station where I used to work, it was a "slow" news night, so the producer asked me to help her call fire and police stations to ask for any fires or fatalities. And, no office had anything. She actually threw her hands up in the air and said, "I swear!! I wish someone would just die or something, so we have something
good to broadcast tonight!"
I refuse to stockpile for a "news scare". However, I was raised to be prepared at home with a week's supply of food and water, just in case anything would ever go wrong - earthquake, personal illness, etc. That's more than sufficient to me.
My favorite "scare" of all time - the stockpile craze of plastic sheeting and duct tape. I so wanted to make a "portable safety system" version of it and sell the "kits" on eBay. It'd consist of a small clear plastic bag and a small roll of tape with the instructions: "Place bag over head. Secure tightly around neck with tape. Enjoy the safety from all airborne pathogens." Then, I would have saved the list of people who purchased them and submit it as potential recipients of the Darwin Awards.
