Too Much Media Saturation

[waldenwriter]

This isn't actually about a story idea of mine, but it relates to a near-future story I just read so I guess it belongs here.

I just read a near-future story in the sci-fi anthology I bought. It is called "The Gambler" and it is by Paolo Bacigalupi. It is told from the point of view of Ong, a refugee from Laos, which has fallen victim to a military takeover. He goes to work for an American internet news site. The story pretty much tackles the idea of media over-saturation and how we will pounce on any new story that hits the net. But, Bacigalupi points out, we don't always read the actually important articles -- and this is Ong's problem. He writes articles about important things like saving the bluet flower from global warming and what the government is up to, but hardly anybody reads them. With his job at risk, a friend of his hooks him up with an interview with a major Laotian movie star, and her quick move to take him on a date helps to up his readership, though he publishes his bluet flower article in the end anyway.

What are your guys' thoughts on media over-saturation? Would it be a good topic for a near-future book?

[journeyman]

It could work. The media does fawn over its favorites and their causes. Two persons/causes that come to mind are Bono's work in Africa and Lady Di's many causes. It's really interesting that Bono was able to get Pat Robertson's favorable attention a couple of years back.

I can think of one secular SF book from the late 60s, A Spectre is Haunting Texas by Fritz Lieber that does examine this. Wikipedia has a summary at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Specter_is_Haunting_Texas.

Some evangelicals see the peace and justice movement being perverted by the spirit of Antichrist. That too would be a good tie-in with media hyper-hype.

[newburydave]

Good points JM;

As with all things the world adopts as it's own the peace and justice message (that they learned from the church by the way) has been injected with fatal poison. A lot of what's coming down now in that venue is part of the Political Correctness thing.

Reminds me of Habakkuk "the wicked surround the righteous and shout them down whenever they speak. Therefore only twisted, perverted judgment goes forth."

It's a theme that ought to be written, but it might be a hard sell in the mass market.

SGD