When Did It Begin?

When did it begin?

I want answers…..now!!  I read news….I listen to reports….I see pictures…...the same question comes to me; when did it begin?  Maybe it’s the story I read yesterday about more US steel being used for bottle caps than for automobile bodies.  Perhaps the alcohol or marijuana debate comes up and both sides argue diligently about which is more harmful to your health.  I want to trace these stories back to the point when the idea/product/service/mindset changed to where it stands now.

Let’s start with television news.  At what point in the history of TV news did they choose to show a computer graphic of how Hawaii could be completely wiped out by a tidal wave instead of video showing a family holding their adopted Haitian baby for the first time?  What prompted them to think that if it “bleeds” it leads?  You’d probably answer with, “ratings.”  Ok, when did ratings start to reflect that those “bloody” stories were more popular than the “feel good” story?  I know there is not one particular instance in which we can trace this all back to but what about a trend? 

I blogged about the killer whale incident at Sea World….let’s go back to when the idea was hatched to put whales in pools and make them do tricks.  I don’t want to go back to origin of these topics so that I have an answer.  I want to go back because I think it makes a great story.  It would be so interesting to see if it was an event, a person, a dollar figure, a sight, a sound, or a taste that began a craze, idea, product, etc.  Those stories would be fascinating.  Pinning our blue jeans in the 80’s, EVERY union member deserving a raise every 3 years of their contracts, or the complete wusification of America as a whole;  I want to know….when did it begin?