Media Events and NonEvents

The other night, as I finished editing the most recent podcast, which naturally keeps me up til 2am… for some strange reason I turned on the TV with the sound off… not really sure what I was looking for. Sure enough, as I pause on CNN international, they’re following a plane with as it flies in circles… and suddenly i was locked on this story.

As I was watching I realized what a media event this was. They had plenty of time to give you so many different zany camera angles. And naturally they got “former pilots” and other so-called experts to call in and give their experienced opinions. There was plenty of time for anything… even updates about hurricanes and probably some story about JayLo or something. While I was very worried about the fate of all those on that plane, I was also fretting about the way information is presented to the public… like we need to be entertained and stimulated in order to pay attention. Myself included, apparently.

So while I really needed to sleep and would have to be up for work in a very short time, I couldn’t stop watching. Somehow I had to watch that plane land.. and I had to see with my own TV-eyes if they would survive.. or if it would be a disaster. I remember questioning my own role… “Does it matter if I watch or not?.. how can that change the outcome?” sure enough… I dosed off for 5 minutes, and when I came to… big yellow fire engines had surrounded the plane as it came to a stop and everything was fine.

Irritatingly enough, the next day I can hardly stay awake, and everyone I talk to has no idea what the hell Im so worked up about because for them it was a NON-event. And so it goes if you stay up late on Central European Time.

Speaking of LA, how about the Green LA Girl and her outstanding blog.