Thank you mass media.

Ah mass media hype [aka mass hysteria]- how I loathe thee, you embarrass an aspiring journalist like myself.

When I originally discovered and reported about the swine flu last, I was very concerned. After all, a huge number of people seemed to be immediately sick.
It's been exactly a week since I first read about it, and even while the number of sick has increased in Mexico city, and there are cases all over the U.S. those numbers are still very minor and insignificant to the number of people who die every year from the flu.

Right now, numbers reported by AP suggest that 140 are sick in the United States. 140 Out of 300 million people living in the United States? Tell me HOW THAT DESERVES 24 news coverage?

That is why I REFUSE to watch, listen or pay attention to any of the news during times like this, or during election season, and I think you should refuse as well.

Lack of creativity has brought our beloved mass media providers to report on one topic 24 hours a day. Even during the same news reports like AP or T.V. segments and companies like Fox or KGW repeat the same thing over and over again.

How many different ways you can say 1,000 people in Mexico are sick, you might get sick too, wash your hands because there is no cure? ONE YOU IDIOTS. Please explain why one needs to devote a whole hour news program unless you're going to bring me original coverage.

Does Obama not have enough to do without the media blowing topics way out of proportion?

There are two logical explanations for everything.

1: Residents in Mexico City live in a more polluted, crowded environment than most in the U.S., with little options for quality health care.

2: Numbers are rising in the U.S., because those experiencing regular flu symptoms decide to get screened. Normally, we would stay home and wait it out.



Here in Oregon, WOU has decided to close campus classes and events through Monday because there may be a potential case.

Shutting down a college campus is not going to stop the spread of the flu, it's going to accelerate it because kids wont have homework and they're going to go party, or have fun in the sun.

According to the NYTimes, Cairo, Egypt, is experiencing a more serious problem, all because of mass hysteria created by the news. They are forcibly slaughtering all the pigs in the country as a precaution.

So friends and family, when you hear the news, check your sources and take a step back so you can logically analyze the situation, and put a blanket on the fire that is mass hysteria.