Mediasteria

The most famous example of mass hysteria was a halloween prank by the quality station of CBS. On October 30, 1938, the radio station decided that they were going to make claims that ailens were invading from Mars beginning in New Jearsey. They had reporters act as eye-witness, described the aliens, and scared many people. at the beginning of the program they acknowledged that it was fictional drama,however for those who tuned in late it was a reality. Sure fear was spread throughout the country, but the real mass hysteria lies in how the media made this into a big deal. The New York Times began the media run by titleing their headline, "Fake War on Radio Spreads Panic Over U.S." The Associated Press was then lead to respond with, "Tidal Wave of Terror Sweeps the Nation." after this report there were suddenly accounts of people trying to commit suicide, having heart attacks. The problem with this situation is that it is not the people who control mass hysteria it is the media. The media has the power to manipulate the way people think and percieve things. The only cause of mass hysteria is the media, not the broadcast. The media was so concerned with getting a story that they degraded themselves by lowering their standards and putting in fictional information to support thier fictional stories. The newspapers criticized CBS for its broadcast, but the people should be criticizing the newspapers for guiding and aiding the mass hysteria.