I was listening to the news the other night and they had a bit about construction on the I-5 freeway in Seattle. Starting now, rather than in two or three months, they are going to close some lanes at night (11 pm to 6 am or some such), creating traffic problems that this item was warning us about.
Between the lines (and hurray, on another stations newscast later that day) was information about how the city/county/state was going to be spending money set aside for this project now rather than later, creating jobs and providing business for the suppliers for the project. Also the other news cast mentioned in detail the miles of roadway that were going to be smoothed out, the pavement cracks that were going to be fixed and the other work to be done.
In other words, rather than emphasizing the traffic disruptions (and why aren't you home in bed between 11 pm and 6 am), the news could have (and one station did) emphasize the smoother better roads that were being created, the employees who would be getting a paycheck much sooner than expected, the care being taken to make the necessary disruptions as limited as possible, and the fact that the better roads would be available to drive on much sooner than originally expected.
But I expect little from our news broadcasts, unfortunately. They are constantly harping on the 6 or 7 percent of people out of work, rather than the 93 or 94 percent who are working, on the thousands or so who have lost their homes, rather than the millions who still have homes. It's doom and gloom at every turn. Which is why I frequently don't even listen to the news.
End of rant.
1 comment:
Um, does this make me the first reader?
All joking aside, thanks for your comment on Episode #2 of CogKNITive. I am glad to have helped you in any way whatsoever, no matter how obscure, and I am very sorry to hear about your brother.
I am glad to have you along among my listeners.
Big warm hug,
Gemma
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