Let me digress from the article title for a moment and say a few general things about media.
Earlier there were actual facts.
Then came modified but still reasonable news.
Then Extrapolation was extrapolated.
And now, it is creation of news.
"Peepli Live" made an excellent effort to convey this message. Again, thanks to media, perhaps most of our population would never come to know that such movies (which deal with issues of relevance to society) do exist.
The pathetic state of media could be due to many reasons. While anything and everything becomes a BREAKING NEWS in tv news channels, newspapers are trying their best to put in irrelevant stuff in some pages dedicated to "trend", "health", "technology" and so on. I have not seen newspapers from the West, but most likely such things have been simply copied from those in so called developed countries.
If you are a reader of Times of India (TOI), you would have often found plenty of news on health related issues. It is generally hard to miss them while scanning through pages as TOI makes sure of putting really 'eye-catching' pictures associated with such news. More often than not, the pictures are totally unrelated to the context. Recent addition to the copy-cats being Deccan Herald, (DH) and there is a considerable overlap of such news articles in these two newspapers.
Listed below are some of the article titles that appeared in past few months. "Earth-shattering revelations" are reported with the help of surveys / studies. While the outcome of many studies is not just a well-known fact, some of them are quite funny as well.
I am not sure whether such studies are indeed carried out - imagining the amount of money and manpower wasted, or simply the news is being created. It would be interesting to make a survey of the practical influence of these reports on public health. Considering the sheer frequency of appearance of such articles, it would definitely bring down the cost.
Drinking water is good for Brain: TOI - 21st May 2010
'when did brain separate itself from the body?'
Happiness may come with age, says study: Deccan Herald - 2nd June 2010
'Why does everyone want childhood back?'
To shed flab, simply think you are thin. : TOI 13th OCT 2010
'..... and never stand infront of a mirror'
Sleeping with light on causes weight gain: TOI 12th OCT 2010
'..... and simply think you are thin'
New study confirms smoking, cancer link: TOI 10th OCT 2010
'I was not sure of that'
Work worries affect sleep, TOI 30th Sept 2010
'otherwise, worries are good for health'
Firm handshake indicator of long life, TOI 28th Sept 2010
'start giving firm handshakes to live longer !'
Internet causes back pain in women: Deccan Herald 19th OCT 2010
'No comments'
Sleep well for a long life!: TOI 8th OCT 2010
City life makes you immune to diseases, TOI 24th Sept 2010
Diet, exercise help heart patients, TOI 23 Sept 2010
Uhhhh...........
Cheers!
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