When Pigs Fly…

… I will start to get worried about the Swine Flu.  Until then, I will merely suffer from the constant bombardment of Swine Flu updates from our staunch protectors, the fourth estate.

I stand a better chance of being killed by lightning than by H1N1, but CBC isn’t telling me to stay inside during thunderstorms.  I’m more likely to be killed driving to the airport than by the flu, but the Vice President of the United States is telling me to avoid planes, not cars.

The situation in Darfur is past critical.  The world’s economy is in the shitter.  20,000 people die every day because of lack of clean water.  It’s GUARANTEED that people will die today from the regular flu, which could have been prevented with a vaccine.

Yet the media can think of nothing better to report on than a disease that has so far infected 0.0000036% of North America’s population.

I looked up “terrorism” and it means “the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion.”  “Terror” is defined as, “a frightening aspect;  a cause of anxiety.”  So right now, if you believe that:

a) the average person is more afraid of catching the Swine Flu that they are of an airplane flying into their building; and

b) the media use sensationalization as a means to attract readers/viewers/listeners; then:

the New York Times is more of a terrorist than Osama bin Laden.

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Woodlot Owners Beware – Demand for Newsprint Vanishing

A while ago, I wrote in this post about the sharp decline in viewership for the evening television news shows.  Well, this article is saying the same thing about newspapers.  In the last 6 months, newspaper circulation in the U.S. has dropped over 5%.  Think about it – if that trend continues, there will be no newspapers in physical circulation by 2018.  My daughter’s high school grad photo will never appear in print.

I’ve made this point many times before, but the implications for marketers are clear.  Mass media is dying and being replaced by people going out and getting the content they want, when they want it, and in the medium they prefer.  So if you have a story to tell people, it’s going to have to be one they WANT to hear.  Plan your business and your messaging accordingly.

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