No News is Good News

No News is Good News

Have you ever wondered why watching or reading news can often leave you feeling practically suicidal? Only today the lead story in the morning slot was about a man killed by his wife with a hatchet. That was followed by a story on kids doing drugs. And to finish it up – an extensive coverage of the current economic crisis.

I tend to see myself as a positive person, but after hearing all that first thing in the morning, I start to ponder – is it really all that bad?

It's easy to understand why newspapers do it – they have to take care of the circulation, and make sure that classified ads keep coming up. And what better way is there to attract attention of the readership if not to print scary pictures of violent murders or slap in a story about the coming economic collapse.

But the TV people, aren't they supposed to give us real facts without the unnecessary tragic exaggerations? It seems not. The times when we had well-researched information given to us by newscasters are well behind. A recent study, carried out in the US, shows that in the years from 1950 to 2012 the proportion of positive to negative news has shifted dramatically in favour of the latter. You might say that from the beginning of the 21century mankind has seen quite a number of tragedies, including 9/11, numerous hurricanes, wars and so on. Yet what about the 20th century which saw 2 World Wars at the very least? So why are we being fed with such depressing stories now?

It looks like there is a reason. The current generation is hard to impress – we have played all the video games, seen all the scary films and even felt them through 3D. Yet apart from that we are quite often described as couch potatoes, sitting there, waiting to be entertained. And what could be more impressive and vivid than a real life tragedy?

Still, there is a way to escape it. Next time you feel the urge to watch the news – go out and take a stroll in the park. If you miss something really important, somebody will most definitely tell it you later!

No News is Good News. Vocabulary.

• suicidal – self-destructing – суицидный, настроенный на самоубийство
• morning slot – part of the news, shown in the morning – утренняя программа новостей
• doing drugs – using narcotics – принимающие наркотики
• a hatchet – a small ax which you can use in one hand – топор
• an extensive coverage of – a full report on – полное освещение событий, темы в медиа
• ponder – think – думать
• circulation – the amount of magazines or newspapers printed at a time – тираж
• classified ads – small ads in a newspaper or magazine, promoting flats, cars and other goods – объявления в газете или журнале
• readership – a group of people who usually read a specific magazine or newspaper – читатели
• slap in – put in – вставить
• exaggerations – when things or problems are made to look bigger or more serious than they are –преувеличения
• well-researched – well-studied – хорошо изученная
• newscasters – people who present the news on TV – ведущие программы новостей
• carried out – done – проведенный
• has shifted dramatically – has changed a lot – сильно изменилась
• mankind – people – человечество
• numerous – amounting to a large number, many – многочисленные
• couch potatoes – people who spend too much time sitting, usually watching TV – люди, проводящие много времени перед телевизором
• feel the urge to – feel you want to do something strongly – чувствовать необходимость