Why the Media Needs you Anxious to Stay Profitable

Ever watch the morning, or evening news and think how lucky you are to live in North America? Meanwhile, Gaza burns. The Russo-Ukrainian conflict drags on. Planes crash. Boats sink in India. A busload of tourists plunges off a cliff in Italy. Sharks attack in Australia and Virginia Beach.

Your local news tallies victims of gun violence, then celebrates police seizing massive cubes of cocaine and illicit pills. No wonder you feel wrung out: mentally, emotionally, even physically.

The media feeds you these images, priming you into a constant state of fear and fatalism. How did we end up here, and is there a way out? You won’t get those answers from the news. The business runs on profit, not peace of mind. Bad news draws more eyes than good, more than the flowers in your yard, the laughter of children, or the fact that you still have a job and can pay your bills.

Bad news isn’t neutral. It stirs your emotions, nudges your thinking, and can steer your actions, sometimes toward compassion, other times toward confusion, anxiety, or even hate.

The media chooses its setup, its slant, and its story arc. It can transform a nation’s attitude toward an issue, a group, or an entire conflict. Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda chief, proved how a relentless media narrative could rally millions toward war. More recently, Donald Trump’s rise demonstrated how media exposure (positive or negative) can shape political outcomes.

Today, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says the country will weather U.S. tariffs and other foreign threats, but will Canadians believe him? Or will we brace for a recession, mass layoffs, and bankruptcies, problems the media could either warn about or downplay?

The real question isn’t whether the media can counter political spin. It’s whether it will.