Yesterday morning on CBS This Morning, Charlie Rose interviewed Bill O’Reilly, the conservative talk show host and asked him to comment on the 3rd and final debate of the 2012 Presidential election between President Obama and the challenger, Mitt Romney, in case there are some of you who read this blog that were not aware. O’Reilly said, “it was boring!”
And, when Charlie tried to “press him” on the details of that comment, O’Reilly indicated that, in addition to the passive nature of both debaters, that the moderator did not “hold their feet to the fire,” to give details of the statements they both made.
Charlie and Bill had their own little debate as to the purpose and role of the moderator with one saying it was to “pit” the two candidates against each other while the other one claimed it was not to do that but to have each challenger explain their position in detail.
While neither Charlie nor Bill were able to gain the higher ground, it left me wondering why the argument had taken place at all???
Then, it dawned on me!!!
So, let’s go back in time… to a time where I was the Executive Director of a local Arts Council that promoted “all the arts” to “all the residents” of a North Carolina County. When I mention “all the arts,” I am referring to:
- Music
- Dance
- Drama
- Writing
- The Theater (adult, children’s, outdoor)
- Art Galleries (oils, acrylics, sculpture, weaving, photography, multi-media)
- Arts and Crafts
- Historical Museums
- Art Education
- Art Fund Raising
- Street Festivals
In my role, I was responsible for promotions and to me, negative publicity was just as good as positive publicity because it “drew out” the reader’s attention. And, therein lies my point.
We have become a country that relies on the SENSATIONAL to draw and keep our attention. And if, you do not agree, then, look around at all the media in which we are confront and with which we interface on a daily basis from smart phones to Ipads to Television to the Internet. Only the sensational draws in and keeps our attention and we do not differentiate between the negative or the positive.
- Presidential candidates speak “half truths” to garner the public’s attention and vote.
- News media displays only those sensational stories that attract attention.
- Photographs attempt to capture the awe, imagination, creativity, and whatever of the viewer.
- Movie scenes spend millions to convey the spectacular.
- Musical lyrics incite our passions as well as our fears and prejudices.
- Reality shows allow us to vicariously experience thrills and dangers.
Global people want to be entertained, instead of becoming participants or having to physically interact with those around us. Social Media allows us to experience anonymous intimacy as long as it is SENSATIONAL; otherwise, we change the channel or surf to another internet site. Some of us may even believe that “life in cyberspace” is real.
But, one truth still exists and that is the SENSATIONAL translates into making loads of money because the viewer/reader (you and me) are “hooked” on the experience and are no longer in control of our actions. We have been manipulated and will continue to be manipulated until death do us part.
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