California Fires: This is News?
California Fires: Tinder for the Media and Moths to the Flame
Let me preface this with a statement: I am very glad to see that injuries and deaths in the current California fires are very low. I hope that there is as little loss of life as possible and that the firefighters fighting the California fires remain safe and get the fires under control.
With that said, however, this is getting ridiculous. I have seen one news report after another describing the California fires as a horrible tragedy, this storm of fire and embers raging on the back of the Santa Ana winds, driving fleeing people before it. Interviews with residents displaced by the California fires have had a common theme: expressions of disbelief, amazement at the power and intensity of the fires, and (fortunately) the fact that they made it out alive. The hardest and cruelest thing to point out, however, is that none of this is news, despite what the media thinks.
Southern California is, and always has been, a natural desert. The scrublands and foothills were there long before San Diego was ever built, and there were raging California fires long before the area ever had a name. The Santa Ana winds have always been there, gusting down towards the sea. There are even species of tree in California that require a fire to pass through the area in order to germinate their seeds! That, more than anything else, should tell you that this area is prone to fires. The very plants have evolved to accommodate them.
Yet, as the latest California fires sweep through mile after mile of expensive homes, we, and the media, lament the tragedy and breathlessly cover every minute of the fires, as if this were somehow "new news." Reality check: It's not. This is a common and natural occurrence. Many, many people were foolish enough to build expensive homes in an area of California that is severely prone to fires, and now they are suffering the entirely expected and natural consequences. The media does not care about their losses. They simply wish to broadcast pictures of the California fires for as long as people continue to tune in to them.
Here's my official prediction of the future: The California fires will eventually be put out. Millions and millions of dollars will be spent to rebuild the lost properties. And then, in due time, perhaps a few years from now, lightning, fireworks, power lines, or perhaps an arsonist or idiot will spark another fire, and exactly the same thing that is on our television screens right now will happen again.
Benjamin Franklin said that the definition of insanity is repeating the same actions and expecting a different result. This applies doubly here: once to the people who continue to build homes in a California fire zone, and once to the news media that will treat the next fire in California as yet another somehow unexpected tragedy.
Published by Davis Prebot
I work at a major community college. In my life I've had a lot of life experiences on two continents, and I have a wide circle of friends with eclectic, varied interests. View profile
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9 Comments
Post a CommentYou are what is wrong with Americans today. The lack of compassion and sympathy that you show for our fellow California's is appalling. Why don't you get off your fat butt and go out breath the contaminated air, find locations for humans, pets and wildlife to evacuate to, put on 100 pounds of equipment in 105 degree weather, save a few lives and homes or watch you loved ones put their lives in danger to save others......then we can talk about news. Have you ever rescued elderly or handicapped family from close to burning down homes? Have you taken bottled water or energy bars to fire stations? Donated to shelters for now homeless people, fostered animals who have been injured or made homeless? Shame on you!!!
Who gives a crap what you think? There's millions of terrified people living in the path of this thing who depend on news in whatever form. Why don't you write about what you think is important, and leave us to get facts about what affects our lives. I guarantee you, your opinion doesn't.
It is probably not worth half of the news slot, but it is news. It may not be newsworthy to you, but it is to us who have to take pictures of what is in our house for insurance purposes and who are having to evacuate. It is also newsworthy. These fires being as vast and numerous as they have been in the past few years is a fairly new phenomenon in Southern California--something worth investigating.
But you don't watch or listen to any reputable and reasonable news stations like NPR or the BBC or read the NYT. I know that because those sources would not blow things out of proportion, just like you have.
Would you call a major hurricane, typhoon, flood, earthquake not news worthy? What about if you were in one?
You should probably get your facts straight and put yourself in another person's shoes before you open your mouth or write an article as insensitive as this one. There are some things you can think, but you should not say out loud.
If you don't care, don't watch the coverage. Maybe you'll care when the fire rages up Mt. Wilson and you can't watch your precious shows.
Actually, this piece is more sensible than 99% of all the MSM coverage.
i bet its news for you now.
You are a major douchebag. Is it better to hear about all the celebrity crap rather than actual human interest? May it not happen to you. Or may it.
We all know a rabbit could jump on some leafs in Cali and burst into flames, thus starting a fire. It doesn't mean it is any less dangerous or tragic when it happens. I think the coverage is about right. Didn't Anna Nicole's death get a ton of airtime on news networks? At least this is something relevant. So... It kind of evens out.
Absolutely agree with you. I'm in Bangkok, Thailand and watched CNN yesterday. The first 30 minutes of the news program were on the fires, although other much more important news was happening all over the world. I finally switched to the BBC who only mentioned it for the first 2 minutes of news coverage - much more reasonable IMO.