Quote:
Originally Posted by Suzy
Perhaps the fact that we have more media coverage these days just makes our weather seem more extreme  What do you'll think? |
The media serves a real function in modern day society.
Without a proactive mass media, the public has little/no voice in steering its own course over short-term issues. I have witnessed 'weak' media performance overseas, and corruption inside the government emerged as a direct result of officials not being called to publically account for their actions.
When it comes to science reporting however, I feel the 'consensus' views of the media should be viewed independently, and kept separate from the reality of the science reported upon.
Going back into historical events, I think the public, (myself included), find it very easy to forget that when (some) of us were kids, families owning a TV were considered 'privileged'.
Even the number of reporters we saw every night, could be counted on one hand. Coverage was thus limited, as was the percentage of the population reached. As a result of this, the public's awareness of what was occurring around them, had to have been vastly limited, compared with that of today.
TV (& websites), reinforce the 'experience' of events such as floods, cyclones, wars, etc. Experiential learning is a strong influence on human understanding. If our experiences as kids were limited by the factors mentioned above, then our basis for comparison with today's events is also incomplete. Our perceptions resulting from those comparisons such as: "the weather was a lot less chaotic .. as I remember", are thus 'learned' from an incomplete experience of the reality of what was actually occurring in the past.
There's no escaping looking at the measurement data and recording of past weather events. Mass media reports (& media websites) serve to remind us of the human experience of weather events, politician's and Kim Kardashian's latest shenanigans, but we should keep this side separated clearly in our minds, from the facts.
(Daring thread, by the way .. I've interpreted it as being more about the influence of the media on human perceptions, than AGW .. I hope it stays on that track … I doubt it, though
)
Cheers