[The limited viewpoint, the media--a medical aggravation]

The reduced view results from a discrepancy between the gigantic supply of the media and the limited capacity of the consumer to intellectually process a wealth of impressions. These remain as gross clichees, which the media repeatedly use as thematically fixed, emotionally charged currency. These tendencies reach everywhere, determining which groups of facts we see and in what light we see them. Before the advent of the mass media, opinions were based on direct observations made in a human context. The mass media, in contrast, supply an indirect, impersonal and machine based opinion to an overwhelmingly anonymous public. Understanding is only possible by reducing complexity, mainly by rigorous selection. We live without reflection in a world of simplified pictures, ideas and contexts, becoming aware of their faults only when we are personally involved.