12.15.12

                   A dandelion in a shaft of light, Beacon, New York, 2012 © Ronnie Farley

To My Dear Friends In The Media Business,

I miss you all and think of you whenever I hear of tragedies which come more often than not these days. While I miss a regular paycheck, I do not miss the barrage of horror that you have to deal with from across the globe on a daily basis.

I remember when I would return to Associated Press after being away for awhile, and the first few weeks were always a shock on my system. My dreams were permeated by massacres in Africa, or shootings in schools, or hijacked planes, until I would become 'numb' to such stories and shut that part of my heart off to do the work that was required of me in the course of the day.

Nowadays, it seems citizens are acting out because they know the media will cover their actions.The media plays an important role in our society, no doubt. This was the case in the sixties especially with the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam war. There was a clear message for change. Now, the media becomes the puppet in people's psychotic schemes and agendas.

When you work in such an environment, it is easy to forget the goodness and the true spirit of things. The adrenaline rush of breaking news throws everyone into a battlefield mindset where time is of the essence, and ratings, or being 'first' are the ultimate goal.

Personally, I think we need to feed our souls with more imagery and stories about the human capacity to overcome and make anew, or stories about the beauty and restorative properties of Nature, instead of her powers of destruction. If you step back and look at our media, it is consumed with death and destruction, and it feeds upon itself. If you think you are not affected by working in this environment, think again. Remember how light you feel when you go away on your vacation, or are away from the newsroom for a few days, not surrounded by computers and electronics and television sets perched above your heads belching out the 'breaking news' that you are trained to react to?

I'm writing this because my heart goes out to you all. How many are dealing with health issues or personal problems because of the stress and electromagnetic environment where you spend most of your life? It is a bubble of negativity, plain and simple. And one needs to find a way to process the barrage of information that gets filtered through your brain and into every molecule of your body.

This isn't a rant against the news business, this is a plea to my friends who work in the news environment, to find an anchor within where your spirit is fed and nourished, and you are able to see beyond the 'newsfeed' and into the realm of true possibilities for the future of the planet.

Perhaps we will begin to see more stories that nourish the spirit, to counteract this media magnifying glass of the world gone absolutely mad.