[...] Mixed Metaphor Media Alert Chart [...]
Mixed Metaphor Media Alert Chart
This unscientific and incomplete mixed metaphor media alert chart may be used as a field guide or simply mocked. Under no circumstances should it be taken too seriously. The media herd is a highly complex and constantly evolving organism. Therefore the mixed-metaphor media alert chart will undoubtedly be edited, expanded and parsed as media herd observations and discussions continue in this forum. Unlike The Cremaster Cycle (which is not understood), this guide is best understood by starting at the end.
STAMPEDE ALERT
An intense, full-on hysterical contagion. Anything is possible. New stories and story lines emerge and die out on a daily and sometimes hourly basis. Hyperbole is mandatory. Facts are secondary. Confusion is guaranteed. Everything and anything is reported on a 24/7 basis for a prolonged period of time. Other events are virtually ignored during a “Stampede” alert. Major media figures travel. Media meltdowns are a high possibility.
MIGRATION ALERT
Indicates a long-term and often permanent acceptance among both the media and the public of the established storyline. The framework of false choices established during a “Flock” alert and reported on during a “Herd” alert are accepted as conventional wisdom. New facts and different viewpoints are typically relegated to obscure blogs or unread books. People who suggest different storylines at this point are treated harshly. They are often dismissed as lunatics or ignored all together.
HERD ALERT
The media has settled on the “facts” and begins debating the storyline and false choices developed by the “Pundit Media.” A “Herd” alert emerges from both major and minor events. A minor event achieves “Herd” alert when the “Pundit Media” elevates the event’s significance by developing a gripping storyline and dramatic false choices. A “Herd” alert signals a critical moment for any story because it indicates the media has lost interest in the event itself. Media sources merely reference the actual event before proceeding with detailed discussions about the storyline. Elements of a “Herd” alert include reports on opinions, interviews with “Pundit Media” and an emphasis on the false choices outlined during the “Flock Alert.” Original reporting on the actual event declines dramatically. A “Herd” alert also signals general public awareness of the storyline and false choices as a result of widespread media herding across all outlets.
FLOCK ALERT
As the media displays incremental organization and agreement over the “facts” of an event, the “Pundit Media” takes on a prominent role by filling out the contours of a storyline and creating false choices. False choices emerge as the “Pundit Media” frames the debate as a choice between a couple competing storylines. Most events implicate a variety of complex issues and multiple storylines, but the “Pundit Media” tends to simplify debate and create false choices on how a story should be perceived. The media echo chamber begins reverberating with the pithy comments and catchy phrases of the false choices created by the “Pundit Media.”
GAGGLE ALERT
Disorganized groups of media independently report about the same or similar event. “Wolf” alerts usually trigger a “Gaggle” alert. Most “Gaggle” alerts signal breaking news. Breaking news includes both unexpected news and expected news such as a press conference. Media reports during a “Gaggle” alert can include different facts and storylines because the media echo chamber has not had the opportunity to reverberate other media sources. Many stories die during the “Gaggle” alert because they aren’t picked up and promoted by the “Pundit Media” or because they are displaced by another story or for reasons unknown. Most events covered by the media herd garner a “Gaggle” alert.
WOLF ALERT
A media source produces a thorough and balanced piece of original reporting on a matter of public importance. “Wolf” alerts signal quality, originality and award potential. It also signals a time-consuming effort to gather facts and report material without succumbing to the urge to simplify inherent complexities. “Wolf” alerts are rare but welcome. The rarity of a “Wolf” alert appears related to an exponential increase in the output of “Pundit Media” and “Fast Food Media” relative to the amount of quality media. “Pundit Media” encompasses that broad spectrum of media sources providing opinion commentary. Like most things, “Pundit Media” ranges from the exceptional to the exceptionally bad. “Fast Food Media” encompasses the countless nuggets of undigested media information created by the terabyte on a daily basis that provide little more than a distraction. Ahem.
Responses
By: The Dalai Lama Is A Racist « Media Herd on April 27, 2008
at 12:42 pm
