What?! That’s terrible..Ok, next!

Set against the backdrop of the intrigue and complexities of Chicago’s political scene, this is yet another fiction-imitating-life show which illustrates that human nature, when faced by spin, political clout and big money, is essentially the same the world over.

But it is not just lies which can be buried, or fizzle out, after a 24 hour cycle, but any news stories.  If I think back at all the stories this past year which created a furore, I can only think of a handful which lasted more than one week.  Those stories which were pumped up and deemed to have dragged on for too long (like the shooting by Mallia’s driver) were soon met by groans and expressions of ennui. It is as if we are on a news conveyer belt with our senses so dulled by the sheer volume of what is thrown at us that our appalled reaction is momentary; we tend to recover more and more quickly, and then it’s “OK, next!”  

It has often been said that with the onslaught of 24 hour information our attention span has become shorter and shorter and in fact, I’ve noticed that many people share a story simply after reading a headline, which is why so many news portals have cottoned on to the ‘click bait’ tactic of writing a provocative headline which is barely reflected in the story itself. What is even more deceptive is when this tactic is used to trick people into assuming that it’s a juicy story which happened here (pushing the predictable political buttons) when it’s actually about somewhere else in the world. 

There was one such story this week about civil servants being told that they could not say “Merry Christmas” in order not to offend people of other faiths which lead to the inevitable xenophobic comments…until someone finally realized that the government directive was issued in the UK.  

It is also very difficult to predict which news items will catch the public’s imagination and lead to an outcry across the board and which ones will be met with a shrug, a yawn or just plain indifference.  Some do not even register on the public radar. Personally, I have yet to grasp why a story about a horse which was apparently set on fire by its owner (horrific as it was) generated more interest than any story concerning violence or sexual abuse against children, for example.

Some say that where children are concerned they cannot bear to read it, or feel helpless that anything can be done - and yet where animals are concerned petitions, demonstrations and hysterical calls for the animal abuser to be massacred are commonplace. I wonder sometimes whether it is because abused children are still considered as “belonging” to their biological parents (so they are not our problem), even though said parents have patently shown time and again that they should have their parental rights stripped away completely. 

I hope someone will correct me if I’m wrong but I have wracked my brains and cannot remember a single instance of a demonstration, candlelit vigils or indignant placards being organized on behalf of Malta’s neglected, abused, forgotten children whose only crime has been that of being born to unfit parents.  

So what stories do people care about? I’m afraid this is where the phrase “sex sells”  has become a truism. Anything connected with sex, gossip, personal lives and scandal makes people perk up, voyeuristically lapping up every detail.  Political sex scandals, in particular, are almost guaranteed to give you online traffic (and here again we are back to the tutto ‘l mondo syndrome).

There are those who get frissons of excitement at learning about the sexual peccadilloes of other people, although it always amazes me that so many of those who go around pontificating and emitting gasps of delighted horror really, really are the last ones who should talk.

But cutthroat competition for “hits” coupled with our impatience at the speed with which we expect news to be delivered, has lead to another unpleasant and potentially harmful side effect: incorrect, inaccurate and sometimes deliberately misleading information being fed into the public domain.

Not everyone has the time or the inclination to confirm the veracity of news stories which means that is very easy to spread lies and fabrications.  This has lead to many people becoming more cynical about the media; they do not believe anything they read or hear and this mistrust has led them to switch off completely. 

This is a segment of the population which is perfectly happy to live their lives away from all the “noise” of conflicting voices, concerned only with their own immediate problems and dreams and hopes for the future.  They do not have the time nor interest to sift through and untangle the stories and will probably only tune in and interest themselves in an issue if it affects them directly and personally.   

We have come a long way from the 1950s when people gathered in silent captivation around the single TV set in the village square. Today our smartphones bring the news to us 24/7, wherever we are, in a  relentless deluge. Little wonder that our engagement with news stories is so fleeting and transitory and why that elusive animal called ‘public opinion’ has become more and more difficult to pin down and predict.