We live in a cell phoning, e-mailing, text messaging, Facebook-ing, Twitter-ing world. Information travels at blinding speeds and can have an almost immediate effect on a business interruption due to the BP oil spill in the Gulf. Right now the media, and their treatment of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, is severely damaging businesses. I can’t turn on a TV without seeing someone on CNN or MSNBC telling me how tourism, restaurants, shipping operations, you name it, will be destroyed in the Gulf Coast states. Not to mention the irreversible damage to the fragile ecosystem of the wetlands in this area.
The result of all this mainstream media coverage is massive cancellations of vacation plans, including condos sitting vacant, fishing charters canceled, restaurants empty, and golf courses that look like ghost towns. And yet, not one drop of oil has yet touched the beach in Mississippi, Alabama, or Florida. Today, when I looked up the weather report for Gulf Shores, Alabama, the skies were clear and it was 86 degrees. Perfect weather. So why is this happening?
It’s happening because the media operates on ratings, ratings are driven by public interest, public interest is driven by emotion, and fear is one of the most powerful emotions. By creating a crisis scenario, the media can tap into this fear and ensure that people continue to turn on their televisions, turn on their radios, or log into news websites. Once the fear is created, the public will react, as evidenced by the above cancellations.
Even though the oil has not yet made it to land, the business interruptions experienced by resorts, restaurants, hotels, and other businesses in the area are very real and have been made even more acute as a result of the media attention.
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