What you might see at the ophthalmologist

Fox News is making inroad everywhere.  It's in doctors' offices.  It's even in the cafeteria at work.

Yesterday, though, during eager non-stop (heh) coverage of the USAir flight that ditched in the Hudson River, I realized the truth about Fox's coverage - and its ratings success.

The intent of Fox News is not to inform.  It's not even merely to entertain.  They are trying to induce emotions in their viewers, not thoughts.  That's why they bring on gushing psychologists to anticipate post-traumatic stress disorder in the passengers and crew.  That's why their platinum blonde newsreaders maunder on about how terrible the fear must have been.

Whenever you see TV news coverage, you should understand that you're making buying decisions all along.  Most people decide to buy - whether products or stories - based on emotion, not on careful, dispassionate consideration.  Roger Ailes (the evil one) knows this, and he doesn't mind manipulating his audience.