We really love bad news. And not much else. Or, is that what "they" would like us to believe? Notice that anytime you turn on the news you get bad news. Not to say that there are not the odd, "puppy found" or "cat removed from tree" type stories, but, primarily, we get bad news: "guy killed wife", "black people rioting", "women scared to walk at night", "serial killer", etc. Is this really all that sells? And, is news that "sells" the news we really need to hear the most from? Short of the many sites that are focused on some niche subject mater, primarily, in my experience, we get bombarded with scare tactics and other oddities of the public --when most people and communities are doing just fine, lots of good things are happening and, most likely, the day to day is more boring and mundane than filled with action packed danger akin to a Hollywood movie. Also, I would rationalize that many "good things", positive things, are happening, regularly --at a higher frequency than those sensationalized stories.
It's not as though I am the first to notice these things --everyone from comedians to social commentators to academics has stated as much. George Carlin has many sets on manipulation of the public through the news --and often wrote bits that show peoples similarities and how few differences there truly are; Bill Hicks made similar claims, speaking about how the news didn't match his experience; Noam Chomsky wrote a book long ago that spoke about both the intentions behind and the methods with which the public is manipulated, and to what ends. Despite these informative viewpoints we continues, as a whole, to focus on the negative rather than demanding, from a consumer perspective, the positive and relatable news. Also, this would speak to the type of fictional television we are imbibing. CSI, Special Victims Unit, Serial Killer Documentaries, etc --all play on our seeming obsession with violence and the outliers in our communities, not the mean. You are far more likely to be killed by a vending machine than a serial killer, but one does not see dramatized stories of the unfortunate vending machine killings or the, all more common, death by traffic accident --unless such are attached to some spiritual entity that abstracts the happenings from reality yet again.
I think my point here, if I have one, is that "we" (operatively) need to make the conscious choice on what to take in, observe and construct our vision of reality on --and we do (as not to add to the trend and point out reality further). Whole services and applications have been created and frequented by folks that are trying to do just that. I would love to see that happen more --for more of the outlying balanced media producers gain more traffic and more notoriety. And, again, there are a lot out there (I will leave some links bellow) but there are still more that could use the support and the links to their content to be more prevalent. There are a tremendous amount of authors that could use the traffic to help them rise above the fray a bit more, and to this point: there are many types of artists that we need to take more effort to ignore. Let this not mean that everyone successful is therefore a "sell out" and not worthy of being listened to or supported --just that most that come from large brands are and should be treated as such. Almost so much as generally, it being a good rule, that if someone has not separated from a large corporation that produces their content; or, they did not start from "grassroots" (to whatever extant) we should be more critical, at least, and likely avoid wasting the time all together.
Contrary to my own feelings I have recently spent a bit of time listening to tracks from "popular" artists --confirming my feelings that most of them leave much to be desired, even those that were more niche in their beginnings. Now let me confirm to you that I have not done a double-blind, formalized study of these aforementioned phenomena. So lodge firmly in your brain that I could very well be full-of-shit and these plastic-y artist are really just popular because they are the "best at their craft" or otherwise fit some important cultural narrative. But I am willing to bet that the truth is closer to: "They are shit!"; "Goat Boy"; etc. --than "Corperate entities have good taste, all-of-a-sudden." Ultimately, do what you want --but I think it better to support the few among us that have real talent. "Buy the best item", in other words, it will last longer; do the best thing, not that which is most expedient, it pays in the end; support the small business, they care about you, the corporation --not so much.
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