In describing the yellow (supposedly sensational) journalism of his day in Great Britain, G. K. Chesterton put forth some interesting observations that might be applicable in our day. Chesterton noted:

"It (yellow journalism) must not expose anybody (anybody who is powerful, that is), it must not offend anybody, it must not even please anybody too much. A general vague idea that in spite of all this, our yellow press is sensational, arises from such accidents as large type or lurid headlines. It is quite true these editors print everything they can in large capital letters. But they do this, not because it is startling, but because it is soothing."

Chesterton goes on to explain that editors use big letters for the same reason that parents and teachers use them when teaching children to spell. He says:

"The nursery authorities do not use an A as big as a horseshoe in order to make the child jump; on the contrary, they use it to put the child at his ease, to make things smoother and more evident." Of the sensationalism of yellow journalism he says: "When they brace themselves up to attack anything, they never reach the point of attacking anything which is large and real, and would resound with the shock."

When reading Chesterton's comments I could not help but compare what he was talking about in his day to our "news media" today. There isn't all that much difference. How many people today, especially in the political realm, could the media really expose, and yet they refuse to touch them? It has often been said of our media that the things they don't tell us are really more important than what they do tell us. They bemuse us with foolishness while real news goes begging. When I want real news I don't bother trying to get it from the local paper, or even the big city papers. They are great for the weather report and the sports section, but as far as getting any real news from them, forget it. You need to find other sources for real news, and the talking heads on TV on the six o'clock news are no different. What they don't tell you would fill volumes. They sensationalize over some conservative politician who stole a box of paper clips from his office while they dutifully cover up the egregious national sins of the political Left--unless they are so blatent they must be dealt with, and when that is the case, they still soft-pedal them. "Cattle futures" anybody?

As in Chesterton's day, the newspapers and TV anchors use big letters to soothe the general public. They don't expose anyone too powerful and they provide us with "news" that is little more than journalistic cow chips. They need to keep the public soothed and quiet so they won't be tempted to ask too many questions about what really goes on in government or in the related corporate fascist world. The government school system has "educated" most people to be mental zombies and it is the media's job to make sure they stay that way.