Anatomy of A Completely Ridiculous News Story
Hello, students! Today, our media lesson looks at how junk science, marketing, and an insatiable hunger across the globe for odd, easily-digested info-bits, all combine to create “news” stories that are passed along to literally billions of viewers and readers as truth, when they are often anything but.
When it was brought up in our afternoon news meeting, it sounded like a sure thing for our 10 PM newscast: new research showing that the most stressful moment in the average workweek falls at exactly 11:45 on Tuesday morning. I mean, how could you NOT like that story? It’s the proverbial everyone-will-be-talking-about-tomorrow-around-the-water-cooler story. It’s specific (not 11:30, but 11:45!), counterintuitive (I thought it would be MONDAY morning!!), and easily referenced (“Hey, I saw on the news that the most stressful time….?”).
The story is also—at least from what I’ve been able to deduce from a little time on Google—completely, absurdly, ridiculous.
Let’s begin at the source: this article from the website of Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper:
“Researchers found that nearly half of British workers identified mid-morning on their second working day of the week as the moment when they were most under pressure. Most workers coast through Monday getting their brain in gear and catching up with gossip from the weekend through social networking sites. But on Tuesday reality sets in and staff spend the first part of the day going through emails they ignored on Monday before planning the week ahead.
And 11.45am is the point when everything comes to a head.”
Wow, who knew? It makes me want to know how exactly the “researchers” figured this out. It just happens to be in the very next sentence!
“Graham Waters from health supplement Bimuno, which polled 3,000 adults, said: "Traditionally people associate Monday as the worst day of the week, but this doesn't seem to be the case – coasting through Monday means we're worse off on Tuesday – both in terms of workloads and stress levels."
Okay, let’s hold it right there. This incredible discovery about the nature of workplace stress is coming our way compliments of a supplement company? One that “polled” 3,000 adults? Who were these adults? How old were they, and what kinds of jobs do they have? What questions were they asked to reach the “study’s” conclusions? How was “stress” precisely defined for them so they could come up with such a specific target time as to when it’s hitting them the hardest?
No word from Graham Waters—whoever that is—on any of those questions. So what’s up with this supplement company, Bimuno? Excellent question! From the home page of the British company’s website :
“How healthy is YOUR digestive system? Research has proven that a healthy digestive system can improve immunity and overall health. Now, the makers of Bimuno have developed a convenient and affordable solution to help improve digestive health through the use of 'prebiotics'.”
That’s cool. I’ve heard lots of good things about these types of supplements. But what does that have to do with a survey about when work stress is at its greatest? For that, let’s go to the last two paragraphs of the Telegraph piece:
“Top nutritionist and food writer Fiona Hunter said: "It's worrying that so many people are suffering from stress as it often leads to poor diet and can have a detrimental effect on your digestive system. "Making sure you are eating the right foods, drinking enough water, and taking supplements that will help you boost immune system, will help to stop that run-down feeling when you're busy and over-worked."
There you have it. This “research” was put out by a company that makes supplements that could help people with digestive problems related to stress that could well come from work. It just needs a hook…. Hmmmmmm… I know! Let’s say people at work feel the most stress at a certain exact time of the week! The media will RUN with it!
And so the media did. The media everywhere. You can read the Tuesday morning stress story on this Pakistani website, this one from India, and this account if you’re able to read Swedish, or whatever Scandinavian language this is. Or you can keep it here in the USA, reading the story on the Huffington Post, on the news site newser.com (where it’s in the science and health section .. I love that), or here on the website of a Washington, D.C. all-news radio station.
With so many people bound to hear, see, or watch this bit of tripe, the 11:45/stress story is destined for a certain mythical status in the world. But not an urban myth; a worldwide myth, now made possible by the internet (in another marketing coup, you might see on some of the websites posting the story that there’s a link directly to Bimuno’s homepage) and created, not over years of word-of-mouth repetition, but over a day or two, at digital speed.
It is what it is, but it makes one wonder how many OTHER “facts” that we take as gospel truth were actually dreamed up by some marketing guy with a friend who writes for a newspaper. But hey, at least now YOU know. When your co-worker starts freaking next Tuesday morning just before lunch—and claiming he’s justified in doing so--tell him he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Then suggest he take some digestive supplements http://www.bimuno.com/ .
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Comments: 12
I get a kick out the commercials about colon cleansing. Like we don't know how to cleanse our colons~~~~~~~~
Nowadays is so hard not to have a stressfull day,...all the layoffs all teh extra work one has to do...On Monday one is just getting to do what one did not finish on Saturday. By Tuesday,one is still working on Monday. So in comparison to the british....everyday becomes a stressfull day. What matters is what you do with the stress!!!!LAUGH at it because thats all one can do!!!!!
The V
That just proves how easy it is to get sucked into media hype. But not for nothing, sales people have been using this method for a long time now. To be sure about something, word of mouth is the only way to go.
Jim;
It seems to me that everyone is trying to market something to help us deal with stress. I guess it is big business. As for me it doesn't matter what day of the week it is but when things get tough, I find prayer is what helps me through the day. And guess what? Prayer is free.
Hi
Jim; The story regarding the woman who committed suicide at the Queens Center Mall this afternoon UNFORTUNATELY left out a key bit of information; interestingly St. John's Queens Hospital located directly across the street from the mall stands closed. How sad for the local residents.
I always find that at about one o'clock everyday I get so tired. I have to catch my breath and maybe eat something to perk me up.
Hey Jim,
So for fun, I think I am going keep a manila folder and each time one of these "studies" comes up, I'll print it off and stick it in there. It'd be interesting to see how big that file gets after a month or two.
It's happened everywhere, but the tease really has become more important than the story.
What I don't get is... while so many broadcast outlets ran with story... how many attributed it? How many made the connection that you made... (that it's a supplement company advising people to take supplements to reduce digestion problems which can cause stress on the most stressful time of the week, whew!) ...
I bet the company itself got virtually no plugs from TV, radio, or print... they must be relying on people to remember the story, google it... and THEN click on links to the "study" placed on various websites... that must be how they are getting the bang for their PR bucks.
This sort of reminded me of another time, on another station, where the medical correspondent did a pkg (complete with a live shot from the bathroom) on... get this... too many people don't know how to wash their hands! Yup 1:45 of warm water, soap, and paper towels... wonder who paid for that study?
MARKETING IS BS PERIOD!!!! even the company i work for releases bs articles and us engineers just laugh and get PO'd... cause we know its all BS... in this current society everyone or almost everyones main goal in life is to make money and hopefully lots... without marketing how do people or business make money.
the human cycle of life revolves around making money/trading... without currency/trading i dont know how the world would run.
Like wpix.. who ever started it was an entreprenuer who wanted to make money. he doesnt care about providing ppl with news all he cares is that they get the latest and the biggest up to date news to televise the fastest to get more viewers, sponsors and more MONEY!
April 24, 2009 1:34 AM
I’ve been sitting in front of the TV for several hours, but I haven’t heard a word, as the anger about Apple and the baby shaker game keeps building inside as a toxin. When the user shook the baby enough times the eyes would turn into red X’s, which symbolized the infant’s death, and the baby then stopped crying. The person who created this game is not an artist, only a coward and mentally unstable person who will hide behind freedom of speech. I think I can speak for most Americans when I say that we all believe in that freedom, but not in yelling “Fire” in a crowded theatre.
But who is raising these “artistic” people that poison our children with all the ugliness that life has to offer? I guess it started with all the vicious and bloody video games that parents purchased for their kids, but now it must stop. The children need to learn about the beauty, while aware of the ugliness. This is not a right or left issue, not a conservative or liberal issue, it is a human rights issue, and babies have rights, as they cannot speak for themselves or protect their fragility.
Now some will say that art is in the eye of the beholder, but Art doesn’t begin at point A, proceed into infinity, and never end, as the artistic line has definitely been crossed by a psychopath in training, but I am primarily upset with corporate America. I know the really religious will find this game upsetting, but I have faith in the alternative kids and teens, the ones with pierced body parts and green and purple hair who love to be different, as I was one of them many years ago, without the color and piercing, just the long hair, that they will join a campaign to teach Apple and corporate America that their balance sheets, loop holes, profit statements, tax havens and irresponsible insensitivity is destroying this great nation that was built on the blood of many dead heroes. They seem to have no conscience, only eyes envisioning dollar signs, as capitalism is quickly being polluted by 21st century fiscal vandals.
I am not a prude and don’t care what consenting adults do behind closed doors, as long as it doesn’t turn into hypocrisy, and I consider myself a free-thinker, which the world seems to lack these days, creative in many ways, as I’ve copyrighted many songs, and was in a band for awhile as a teenager, a rhythm guitarist, but it was short-lived. My dad was a talented graphic artist, plus my sister is also a gifted, and I believe we have more important issues to solve than worrying if same sex couples should get married.
I appreciate what I perceive as art, like the genius Leonardo da Vinci, Kandinsky, Salvador Dali, Michelangelo, and Dylan Thomas, who rushes into my soul like a soothing wind of change, and I love alternative music, and I’m almost 60 years old,. Many years later an acoustic guitar gathering dust saved my life, as I began to write about the pains and unspoken turmoil that had turned me into a shell of a man, and I began to remember how much I loved to sing. It felt like I had awoken from a 20-year nightmare, and my creative personality had returned.
But does the “Pod Generation” have the courage to join the B.A.B. campaign, which stands for “Babies Are Beautiful”? I want to see you on You Tube smashing your I-Pods, or at least not downloading any more songs, but the true heroes will step on their Pods with a force heard around the world. All children should be taught in school, very early on, that babies are not toys, they are little and fragile humans without defenses. Our children are being kidnapped and murdered, abused and tortured every day, but we spend more time watching boring reality shows, gambling, or watching sports, than in saving the unprotected children of the world.
I don’t consider this situation with the in the past John Lennon comment about how the Beatles were “more popular than Jesus”. I believe it was blown way out of proportion but I respect an individual’s right to throw out and burn or destroy all the Beatle albums and records they want, as freedom is what this country is about, but I still love John Lennon, and I vividly remember that fateful night when I called a friend and we got drunk together upon hearing about his demise. I am not religious, and I don’t believe in gods and goddesses, but I despise people who hide behind that institution for personal gain, as like most televangelists, but I believe in freedom of religion, as long as it is kept out of our schools and government; especially our government, as religion plus government equals war.
But now I must talk about my background, so you know where I’m coming from. These facts may seem extraneous, and maybe you’ll be thinking I’m going off on another tangent or dimension, as this story is supposed to be about Apple and babies, but I promise it will all make sense later on.
I “grew up” or shriveled during the 1960’s when the Vietnam War hovered like a jackal, and I was terrified by any thoughts of war because I was a gentle and very sensitive person, as if every pin stuck into my thin skin felt like a hundred, and every anxious moment was a persecution, as even the deaf could see the daily body count on their televisions. I smoked too much grass, gambled in excess on the ponies and card games, but never borrowed money, swallowed too many “downers”, drank too much of everything, and even tried inhaling Carbona cleaning fluid in another stupid attempt to bury my fear and insecurity, but I didn’t know any better, as my emotions were stagnant. Later on I tried cocaine, but I eventually outgrew those self-destruction urges, as did many others from that thermal era of change.
I eventually protested that war on those now contaminated cobblestones of Wall Street, that refuge for degenerate gamblers and fraud, and was always self supporting since the age of 22, when I moved into my first apartment, and now can boast of an 850 credit score, something I am proud of, as that is how I was raised, to work and pay the bills first. But preceding that first apartment, when I was 20 years old, I sunk into a state of depression, a “state of non-reality”, and it changed my life forever, as I had no treatment. I’m sure those illicit drugs didn’t help, but I felt like a lost spirit searching for some meaning and personal stature, in an endless intellectual fog.
I needed to talk to a brilliant mind like Carl Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist, an influential thinker and the founder of analytical psychology. Jung's approach to psychology has been influential in the field of depth psychology and in countercultural movements across the globe, considered as the first modern psychologist to state that the human psyche is "by nature religious" and to explore it in depth. He emphasized understanding the psyche through exploring the worlds of dreams, art, mythology, religion and philosophy. Although he was a theoretical psychologist and practicing clinician, much of his life's work was spent exploring other areas, including Eastern and Western philosophy, alchemy, astrology, sociology, as well as literature and the arts. His most notable ideas include the concept of psychological archetypes, the collective unconscious and synchronicity. Synchronicity is the experience of two or more events which are causally unrelated occurring together in a supposedly meaningful manner. In order to count as synchronicity, the events should be unlikely to occur together by chance.
Jung emphasized the importance of balance and harmony. He cautioned that modern people rely too heavily on science and logic and would benefit from integrating spirituality and appreciation of unconscious realms. He considered the process of individuation necessary for a person to become whole. This is a psychological process of integrating the conscious with the unconscious while still maintaining conscious autonomy. Individuation was the central concept of Analytical Psychology. Many years later I would read his autobiography, “Memories, Dreams, Reflections”, only grasping about 60% of his thoughts, as they soared way above the intellectual powers of most humans.
After about 14 months, as there was no exact date to remember, I gathered enough self-esteem and moved into the apartment on the next floor from my mom and sister, who had a beautiful young child to nurture. The four of us in three rooms just didn’t work, so I found a job and tested the waters of life in an undiagnosed state of emotional turmoil, as old habits persisted.
Shortly afterwards I met the first girl I fell in love with, and we talked on the phone for hours, which was an experience that gave me goose bumps, but it only lasted 3 months, and I literally cried for a whole year. But there was a special child, Cari, who was only 4 years old, and her love kept me going for that eternity of 365 days. Every morning before work I opened the door to her apartment, and she would run down the hall way with the brown paper bag and sandwich that my mother had prepared, and she jumped into my arms, inflicting a magical spell that suppressed the loveless pain, if only for a moment. Then she would place one hand on the inside door knob, and the other on the outside, and I would swing her back and forth like an angelic pendulum, and her smile and laughter I could see and hear throughout the day. Upon returning from work we repeated the medicinal hugging that kept my overly sensitive spirit alive.
Years later during another tough time I would walk to my sister’s home, just wanting to hold my niece Christi, to revive any feelings that had died and escaped. I loved that little girl as if she were a chocolate tree. Now there is Michael and Tonianne, and adding them to the loving circle makes life worth living. They are the children I never had.
At this moment I hope it all makes sense, that you understand why I get so upset when thinking about that shaking baby abomination. Holding a smiling baby in your arms and having him or her look you right in the eye and laugh is one of life’s great pleasures, and I hope the “Babies are Beautiful” words will seep into the minds of the world. Their innocence must be protected. That 4-year old girl I spoke of earlier is now pregnant with her third child, and I can’t wait for you know what.
It is now 4:28 AM
Lol. Wut?
John Molinari, you are truly a gem of beautiful irony. But really, the joke could have been done in one or two paragraphs. ...Assuming it really WAS an ontopic joke in the vein of the original post, and you're not just a randomly posting net.cretin.
The irony of the original post itself wasn't lost on me, either: all news agencies (not least the BBC) get taken in by press releases and stuff, and don't bother to fact check as often as they should near a deadline. Point well made, and kudos for being one of those not taken in by this press release. Even with the best fact checking in the world, it is simply impossible to be correct 100% of the time, though news articles from news feeds like Reuters should probably be treated with slightly higher levels of trust than, say, YouTube, since they will most likely be true on SOME level at least.
The measure of the man (or rather, news agency) comes when they find out they were wrong: do they apologise and retract with alacrity, or respond with DMCA threats?