It seems to me that the American media keep and sustain an audience through inciting fear. This comment may seem bizarre to some, but as an Australian new to this country I feel like I am constantly being bombarded with the impeding doom of civilization. I guess if I was convinced society was crumbling I would pick up a copy of the paper everyday and check online for regular updates also. It happens to be risky times ( coincidently all at the same time); from the economy to health care, natural disasters, terrorism and politics. The front page of Usatoday.com or CNN.com is filled with these topics which seem to include the necessary 'disaster', 'invade', 'crash', 'downfall', 'death' tag line.

I am not proposing that this is not a global phenomenon. But from my experience it is much more intrusive here in the United States.