"The sense of national catastrophe is inevitably heightened in a television age, when the whole country participates in it"
- R. W. Apple, Jr.
About this Quote
The quote by R.W. Apple, Jr. succinctly captures the change in the general public's understanding of nationwide events, particularly disasters, in the tv age. This notion is rooted in the extraordinary immediacy and intimacy that television brings into the lives of people.
In earlier periods, news of a national catastrophe would travel slowly through print media or word of mouth. The psychological impact was frequently delayed and watered down as the news took some time to flow. Nevertheless, tv changed this vibrant fundamentally by offering real-time coverage and visual representation of events as they unfold. The entire country can now attest to a crisis instantly, with significant images and stories provided straight to their living-room. This immediacy has the effect of magnifying the psychological response and producing a shared, cumulative experience amongst viewers.
Moreover, tv includes a layer of tangibility and realism that other mediums struggle to convey. Seeing the destruction, the human suffering, and the on-the-ground turmoil makes the disaster feel closer and more personal, despite geographical range. The visual narrative constructed by televised news not only notifies but likewise immerses the audience, often generating a strong understanding action, and can cause an increased sense of urgency and widespread social stress and anxiety.
In this context, the function of tv is not merely that of a passive conveyor of info however a powerful participant in forming public perception and reaction. The media can influence nationwide state of mind, sway political results, and even direct the course of public law by how it selects to present a disaster. Thus, Apple's quote highlights the dual-edged sword of telecasted media: its capability to merge a nation through shared experience while simultaneously intensifying the understanding of disaster through remarkable, real-time coverage. The tv age, therefore, represents a paradigm shift in how societies experience and respond to national crises.
This quote is written / told by R. W. Apple, Jr. somewhere between November 20, 1934 and today. He/she was a famous Journalist from USA.
The author also have 5 other quotes.
"The printed page conveys information and commitment, and requires active involvement. Television conveys emotion and experience, and it's very limited in what it can do logically. It's an existential experience - there and then gone"
"Television brought the brutality of war into the comfort of the living room. Vietnam was lost in the living rooms of America - not on the battlefields of Vietnam"
"Television news is like a lightning flash. It makes a loud noise, lights up everything around it, leaves everything else in darkness and then is suddenly gone"