Chunk #1

In the first chunk of the Culture of Fear, pages 1-70, Glassner states the claim of how media like newspapers, reporters, and journalists uses a lot of statistics when in fact, they are simply abusing them, and not only that, but are using these statistic numbers to make a hype, to exaggerate a small situation into a big one. Worse, the people usually buy into these exaggerated reports. He supports this claim when he explains how on Oprah's show, she explains how many have been in dangerous road rage situations, and then Glassner says she backs this up with "an impressive but ultimately meaningless number". A statistic. Glassner is showing how media abuses facts, using them when reporting, but are usually just as he says “impressive but ultimately meaningless”. Another claim Glassner makes is how the not only media focuses and makes a hype of mere subject matters like road rage, but hardly focus on the subjects that truly matter. He supports this by stating how the media will continue to hype the silly road rage topic, but will hardly give the time of day to the discrimination and death of a disabled black man in Texas, or the gay discrimination towards the gay in Wyoming.


Application Question: Why does the media feel the need to use silly numbers to report things to us? More importantly, why is it that we fall for these silly numbers?