The Media Slant Determines the Angle

This started out as a dream about how media bias determines the stories we see every day. Then it developed into a specific instance where this might be evident: a fish story.

And I can hear the collective comment: who cares?

So, let me be clear: I am not an ice fisherman. I have never caught a fish in my life. The only reason for focusing on this topic is the usual news cycle that will come up in three days time: March 15th is the date fishing huts need to be removed from Lake Simcoe.

In my dream, there were three ways to tell the story:

Positively

Larry has been in his fishing hut for weeks on end, but hasn’t had a bite. He’s determined to persevere until the very last moment because he knows that there’s a fish with his name on it. Just before midnight on the very last day, he lands one. He’s ecstatic. Now he can remove the hut from the lake, knowing he’s succeeded in his quest.

Sympathetically

Larry’s packing up his fishing hut for the season. He’d been sitting patiently, waiting for a fish to bite. Finally, just before midnight, he managed to catch one. So his time hasn’t been wasted.

Negatively

The ice fishing season’s over for another year. Larry, a so-called veteran of the ice wars has only managed to catch one, and that was just before midnight on the last day. What a waste of time.

A Now For Something Completely Different

This is the real reason for the dream.

I saw a news story last night that discussed the use of shoebox satellites to map the whole world. The implication was that it would be very useful to keep track of the bleaching of the Australian Great Barrier Reef. Really?

I suspect it will be more useful in spying on everyone, everywhere.