It is Believed That…

Bryan Williams just used this curious phrase in this context:

"It is believed that the violence in Iraq has decreased in recent weeks."

What does this mean?

It seems that we would have surely have enough data somewhere to determine if in fact the violence has declined or that it has not. What is this "it" anyway? Sometimes the word "it" used this way might refer to a consensus. Whose consensus? Which data? How do we know if they are right or wrong? This should be a yes or no question because the data is so discrete. Here are other ways that language like this is absurd when we have clear and discrete data to determine something.

It is believed that:

• My wife and I were married in 1998.
• Church attendance spiked in the 1950's and the 1980's.
• At least some tomatoes in the past several weeks have been reported to have had salmonella bacteria.
• The world's population is over 5 Billion people.
• Atoms cannot be seen with the naked eye.
• The elephant is the largest land animal alive today.
• Michael Dukakis was never the President of the United States.
• The crime rate in New York City went down dramatically during Rudi Giuliani's terms in office as Mayor.

Now follow these statements with something like: "Startling details are emerging from this developing story. Tom Aspell reports." Not interesting right? That's what I thought about that lead-in to Iraq.

But…

This is what people will watch and listen to. Data is boring – especially when it is clear and discrete. Conjecture evokes a sense of mystery and allows the random and uninformed viewer to fill in the gaps with their own ideas about it. It creates gossip and conversation without which marketing suffers. If the consumer cannot read themselves into the story, it becomes less vivid, less salient, and less effective in driving up ratings and creating an audience. This story told us nothing factual and nothing new. However, it did evoke a response. I am just not sure my reaction was the kind of reaction they wanted. But I think it is the kind of reaction that more ought to have – especially in an election year.

The US is the largest source of media consumption in the world and it is also a place where media literacy is not a literacy we are taught very well, or at all. Media messages form and reinforce structures of belief and marketers know exactly how to do it whether the consumer likes it or not. They know your assumptions already and use them to link a product to a belief thereby reinforcing that belief. The kicker, the hook, the prestige here is that what you believe is just not good enough. The marketer always has something better, more fulfilling, and something more deeply related to you personally.

So why should I believe Bryan Williams' lead in? It is what all Americans – those who want the troops out and those who would rather the US military stick around to ensure business is done – would like to see happen. So thanks for making us feel that you were our invited conversation partner during that lead-in Bryan Williams. We have a new friend again tonight and we will remember that for the next NBC or MSNBC news story. I am just not sure if what was just reported has any real substance to it.

One more thing…

That kind of story sets the audience up for the next climatic violent incident. Another reaction, another catharsis, another belief structure on this endless roller-coaster narrative plot line called the news. Constructed reality served to you nightly courtesy of corporate media. And that's the way it is…

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