FightFear.html

Fight Fear

"... news is a major source of ... mental turmoil ... as news media focus more and more on murder, mayhem, and misery."

Andrew Weil, M.D.
Author of "8 Weeks To Optimum Health"

"Don't immerse yourself in bad news. The glut of negative information ... can hurt the psyche, causing stress and fatigue."

Kenneth H. Cooper, M.D.
Bottom Line newsletter article
September 1, 2005

"We compound our worries beyond all reason. Life expectancy in the United States has doubled during the twentieth century. We are better able to cure and control diseases than any other civilization in history." Despite that, a culture of fear has developed in this country.

Barry Glassner
Professor of Sociology at USC
"The Culture of Fear" (1999, Basic Books)

Could the press become a consistent champion of debunking fear instead of inflaming it? Glassner (quoted above) writes that society pays a price for fear and cites examples of exaggerated news coverage about threats to health and safety. When fear trumps reality, society misdirects its intellectual, financial, and emotional resources.

Is this an opportunity for "trusted sources" in the traditional news media to take the high ground and not be the source for toxic fears? Remember, "journalism is for building community," according to Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel in their worthy book, "The Elements of Journalism." The question for journalists and the public is: What kind of community is the press helping to build?

Mike Benard helps audiences outsmart the fear template in today's news -- and laugh at the over-the-top behavior of the news media. And he pulls back the curtain on what the press fears. To reach Mike, click on the Contact link below.