Smog: The Big Story

Mardy Ying Assignment #4

WRIT 140

Rajamannar

November 10, 1999

Smog: The Big Story

The beautiful mountain ranges surrounding the Los Angeles region make a magnificent view, but unfortunately the smog problem in Los Angeles prevents everyone from enjoying this. Smog is a large environmental problem that needs to be concentrated on to find solutions. The media, which includes television, newspaper, magazines, and organizations, is delivering messages to inform the public concerning smog, but are these messages expressing the true environmental issues about smog? In the present day world, the media does not adequately explain any environmental issue. Obviously, the media’s main objective is to get the best story; and sometimes the media would do anything to achieve that goal, even if it means to alter the truth and perception. Although the truth is Los Angeles has always been known for its severe smog problem, the media has recently began to hype this problem to the extent of positioning it as disastrous, because the media is constantly on the look out for dramatic news stories.

The smog problem in Los Angeles has been portrayed as being disastrous as the media dramatizes the harmful health effects of smog. The severity of health effects depends on the smog’s intensity and the amount of smog exposure. For susceptible people with asthma or other lung disorder, any weak level of smog could affect their health. As for healthy individuals, a medium level of smog will be enough to affect them. Smog reduces normal lung function on an individual by inflaming the walls of the lung, and therefore causing chest pains and coughs. This description of smog would be a true news story for the media to cover, but based on today’s media standard, this would not be considered a “story”. From the media’s view, a “story” is any dramatizing, heart-pounding, or shocking news that would grab the public’s attention. By warning people to stay indoors and avoid outdoor activities when there is a smog alert is more of an exciting “story” than simply stating the facts about smog. Reporting of an increase in hospital visits for lung disorder caused