If it Bleeds, it Leads (Why I Hate the Press)

Posted:
in AppleOutsider edited January 2014
I recently came across this NY Sun story on Drudge.





Food Rationing Confronts Breadbasket of the World



Quote:

Major retailers in New York, in areas of New England, and on the West Coast are limiting purchases of flour, rice, and cooking oil as demand outstrips supply. There are also anecdotal reports that some consumers are hoarding grain stocks.



I am so sick of this kind of panic journalism, which is only intended to sell papers. This particular article is absolutely deceptive. "Major retailers" means a some stores in the Costco and Sam's Club chains. And they're limiting primarily rice...50lb bags of rice. Some are limiting customers to a few large bags of flour, containers of oil, etc. This is no doubt to prevent hoarding...which itself might start from alarmist articles like this.



Don't even get me started on "anecdotal evidence." The article says it's primarily the big chains, not as much with the mom and pop stores. OK, how's this: I'm in the Northeast. I went to a major supermarket chain just last night. I saw the shelves stocked with everything, including cooking oil...which I bought. There were no shortages of anything, much less flour, rice and cooking oil.



So we've determined the article is intended to alarm for no good reason. But then the author goes a step further, calling "food rationing." WTF? This article is despicable and irresponsible. It's a little like the one UK paper running the "USA 2008: Great Depression" article. In fact--since this is about food supplies--I would say it's far worse.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    Hear! Hear! I wholeheartedly agree. We shouldn't have "creative" writers making up sensationalist, twisted half-truth headlines to scare the American population into an irresponsible panic, like "Saddam Hussein is an immediate threat to the US".



    Nah... just joking with you... I do agree with the premise of the thread, all politics aside.
  • Reply 2 of 7
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    The problem isn't that papers like the NY Sun run articles like this, because nobody trusts them anyway. The problem is that the NY TImes has done a lot of the same. "All the news fit to print" has become "If it fits, print it." Whatever: they are hemorrhaging reader base, respectability, and revenue because of it. The market is still honest.
  • Reply 3 of 7
    midwintermidwinter Posts: 10,060member
    Absolutely agree with SDW2001.



    *struck dead by bolt of lightning*
  • Reply 4 of 7
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by midwinter View Post


    Absolutely agree with SDW2001.



    *struck dead by bolt of lightning*



    Well, you know what this calls for.
  • Reply 5 of 7
    while the news is certainly sensationalist... there is an underlying problem that people will ignore since they see food stocks in their stores...
  • Reply 6 of 7
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,015member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hardeeharhar View Post


    while the news is certainly sensationalist... there is an underlying problem that people will ignore since they see food stocks in their stores...



    That's true to an extent. The price of rice is skyrocketing, as is the price of corn, which thereby affects milk, beef, etc.
  • Reply 7 of 7
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,015member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by addabox View Post


    Well, you know what this calls for.



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