Parochial escapist media entertainment

The present and potential influence of the entertainment and information media is enormous. The escapist, diversion-oriented programming which today indicates one dimension of our paralysis, is being sustained by the managers of media as a service to the established structures. This contributes to the isolation, victimization and parochialism of local people and is a key factor in limiting their global possibilities.

The media seek stories which are exotic (they happen somewhere else), episodic (there are "new" elements), or catastrophic. The steady decline of the natural environment through deforestation, loss of topsoil and clean drinking water are not the kind of stories that media regard as front page news.