Day 1: Zombies and the Media

While we were discussing media literacy and the possible problems of having so much of the media owned by so few corporations, I made the connection with a book I'm reading. World War Z is a novel that answers the question "Just how did the zombies take over the world?". The connection with media literacy is that it lays out the worst case scenario of what might happen when the media works only for short term gain an not for the public good. It seems silly enough, but our Chinese visitor commented on how the Chinese media did not really deal with the SARS epidemic in an honest way. In World War Z the zombie epidemic begins in China, because the author sees it as the place most likely to cover up the problem. However he also shows the American Government and media covering up the problem as well because it would interfere with the economy. I don't know if the author is really out to comment on the today's media and political landscape or if it's just a convenient rationalization for the book. I can see things continuing as they are as long as people don't see it as affecting their own personal well being. However, one would think that if people feel that they are being left in the dark about something important, there might be the political will to make some changes. That's my hope at any rate, that if the system gets too far out of whack, people will be motivated to set it straight.