The infotainment industry as an ecotope in the "socio-economic environment"

In response to a Guardian article, "Too much Ipswich", by Martin Bell on the inappropriate level of media coverage of 5 recent murders

Link to article and thread at The Guardian.

The word INFOTAINMENT was coined a long while ago and describes the situation succinctly and accurately. Notwithstanding that the news often contains a certain (usually very small) amount of "relevant" information - although relevant to WHOM, is another question.

If I lived in or near Ipswich, the murders there would be of huge interest to me, but not otherwise. But multiple murders are good INFOTAINMENT, so EVERYONE gets it dished up, including children, whom we should be protecting from (too much - now daily!) exposure to such (and other) horrors.

The News media are just one of many industries, "ecotopes", in the artificial "socio-economic environment", which has effectively replaced the natural environment, where Earth's "Greatest Ape" (Homo sapiens, indeed!) CONTINUES his Darwinian struggle for survival and advantage, now largely reduced to making MONEY, one way (any way) or another, in an economy that has developed to both serve and exploit his animal nature and behaviour, thus creating a mutual dependency which is the ROOT CAUSE of the existential problems and threats we face, but are not facing up to.

And with everyone primarily concerned (behaviourally programmed by nature) to maintain, justify and defend their niche in their own particular "ecotope" it is a situation that is very difficult (for most, perhaps impossible) to recognise, let alone think about changing.

More in this vein at http://www.spaceship-earth.org

To: Comment at the Guardian Re: The infotainment industry as an ecotope in the "socio-economic environment" Date: Thursday 21 December 06

In response to a Guardian article, "Too much Ipswich", by Martin Bell on the inappropriate level of media coverage of 5 recent murders Link to article and thread at The Guardian. The word INFOTAINMENT was coined a long while ago and describes the situation succinctly and accurately. Notwithstanding that the news often contains a certain (usually very small) amount of "relevant" information - although relevant to WHOM, is another question. If I lived in or near Ipswich, the murders there would be of huge interest to me, but not otherwise. But multiple murders are good INFOTAINMENT, so EVERYONE gets it dished up, including children, whom we should be protecting from (too much - now daily!) exposure to such (and other) horrors. The News media are just one of many industries, "ecotopes", in the artificial "socio-economic environment", which has effectively replaced the natural environment, where Earth's "Greatest Ape" (Homo sapiens, indeed!) CONTINUES his Darwinian struggle for survival and advantage, now largely reduced to making MONEY, one way (any way) or another, in an economy that has developed to both serve and exploit his animal nature and behaviour, thus creating a mutual dependency which is the ROOT CAUSE of the existential problems and threats we face, but are not facing up to. And with everyone primarily concerned (behaviourally programmed by nature) to maintain, justify and defend their niche in their own particular "ecotope" it is a situation that is very difficult (for most, perhaps impossible) to recognise, let alone think about changing. More in this vein at http://www.spaceship-earth.org