New Feature: Casualty of Capitalism Pure Hype Watch

When I was in high school, there was a train derailment in Silver Spring, MD that caused the deaths of a good number of people. I can't remember how many, because as the local channels broadcast from the scene, they kept revising the number up and down, depending upon the latest rumor. Instead of reporting facts, we viewers were left with speculation reported as fact. Reports went something like this:

"Andrea we now have reports of 12 deaths as a result of this tragic derailment!"

Later, "Andrea we have now heard that 38 people died today, and many more are unaccounted for!"

Later still, "Andrea, rescue workers tell us there are 7 confirmed deaths..."
And so on...

Speculation should be left out of any serious news report. This should be every news operation's mantra: if you don't have the facts, don't report rumor...get them!

Instead of single incident hype like the above, another type of hype is the "theme" hype that tends to last for several months. Many of you may remember the summer of kidnapping hype we had two years ago. Or the summer of shark attack hype. Of course, kidnappings and shark attacks were at or less than normal levels, but the media couldn't help itself in trying to get the next big scoop on a story that is usually a statistic in an almanac.

There are many other forms of hype, but you get the picture. So to start things off, I present today's Mt. St. Helen's hype from CNN. This headline was featured on their red banner for "BREAKING NEWS[!!!!!]" (exclamation points not in original):

A huge plume is rising from Mount St. Helens, but it's not immediately clear if the volcano is erupting. Details soon.

Should we buy all the toilet paper and bottled water yet?