Read With Care

Newspapers served us well for generations but before long will probably become one of the things of the past, these dead tree editions as I have heard them referred to. I read the paper when one is around but I haven't subscribed for several years. Instead I get a lot of my news online from many sources but especially yahoo. It's pretty easy. I just go to my home page and there it is, politics, sports, entertainment with one easy click. They try to entice you to read on with a steamy celebrity question or a ridiculous bizarre news item. And it also seems they want to strike fear in our hearts with some of their headlines. "Bird flu found in Chinese girl," I read. There are 6 billion, 750 million people on Planet Earth and, though I hope this one person recovers from this illness, percentage-wise I hardly think this is breaking news. But could it stir up an emotional response? Why sure. And yesterday it was the crack in the ice in the Antarctica. While it is good to be informed, I am also aware sensational journalism is alive and well in mainstream web pages.