The CBC has interviewed a doctor about the impact of non-stop horrifying news on a person’s health and mental state. We don’t need to hear the MD talk — although he is good — to know that endless bad news of the kind we have seen this Spring and Summer causes increased anxiety and heart palpitations. What is interesting in this discussion is the lack of interest — maybe even total ignorance — of the media of its own role in such distress. The mixed blessing of 24-hour news with repeated playing of the most disturbing clips is the accepted standard of even ethical broadcasters. Certainly CNN cannot repeat such video too often for its purposes. But never a word about whether it is good for viewers to be pummelled with such unsettling stuff. Doctor discusses impact of bad news on health, state of mind. Pediatricians say “virtual violence” makes kids violent
