Goodbye John Humphries, goodbye Hamish McRae
The news media can seriously damage our mental health both at work and at home.
For many years we have turned Radio Four on at ten p.m. and let it run through World Service at 1a.m. and then back to Radio Four at 0530 and on until getting up time. But the fact is that 90 % of stories chosen by the news programme producers are depressing in one way or another. That is not all. The vast majority of the listening public can do absolutely nothing to make a material difference to the reported situation.
So in addition to starting each working day feeling more or less depressed, that is accompanied by an overwhelming sense of impotence. There is a third angle. We heard the latest crisis feature about the NHS one morning last week. At nine I had an appointment with my local GP, so I grabbed the Independent newspaper from the porch floor, and on the walk round, it was only natural to wonder how they are faring. Yet the care and service and support I received was second to none. So in the back of my mind is some kind of confusion between what I heard about doctors' surgeries on the radio and what I had actually just experienced.
In the Waiting Room, I had time to absorb the screaming headline on my paper about the imminent catastrophe facing the City of London, the wealth it creates and the jobs it sustains. The supporting article was not for the squeamish.
Now I was with a client at 0930 and part of my job is working with business clients to help develop and sustain competitive advantage. My demeanour, attitude and approach are crucial. So why do I want to start the day like I do, like I have done for twenty years? The answer is that I don't anymore, so Radio Four News is no more and I have cancelled the Independent.
It is more important than ever to be the driving force behind your own business model, rather than an unwitting participant in someone else's.
Labels: the impact of outside influence on your ability to make the changes you want in the world
posted by Tim @ 6:56 AM
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