junkies

The British are news junkies. Is it fear of boredom? Something needs to be going on 'out there' and the more portentous and disgraceful it is the better. We can then lock the door, hide under the blanket and revel in personal safety and innocence. We need news, even if it is only about a change in the weather - anything to up the tempo and help us to feel that life is happening. News should be 'new, true and interesting'. But can we rely on news makers, reporters and presenters to be trustworthy? Does what we read and hear comply with these three criteria? A meeting to discuss this is being held on Sunday September 4 (7.15 at the Congregational Church Newcastle under Lyme) by Progressive Christianity Stoke. There is a limit to the amount of good news we can take. News of conflicts being ended and settled is less compelling than news of conflicts starting and continuing. We feed on the exploits of baddies; Bill Sykes is much more interesting than Oliver Twist. How reliable is the media that feeds us every day? We are aghast at the way phones have been hacked to tease out privated information, but salivate at what the likes of the News of the World was able then to 'reveal exclusively'. We think we have a right to personal; privacy, but gloat over personal information about other people offered in the lurid press. How far should the media go to expose the foibles of the famous? As newspape sales decline and most people now get their news from TV and electronic gadgets will news reports become less reliable? Is society being managed on sensatuional half-truths and lies? How much anyway do we 'need' to know? It's worth discussing.