How The Media Can Change The Thrust Of A Person's Message By Omission

Here is an update from a friend, Melinda Rembert Wells. For several years Melinda has had an ongoing fight against a rare and complicated tumor in her brain. Today she is doing well.

I thought her post on Caring Bridge about how the media (At least the Dallas Morning News in this case) can totally change the thrust of a person's message by omission is very informative. It should make us question everything we read - at least check other sources. Melinda is doing very well and her post clearly tells you who she believes is responsible.

TPE3

Melinda's post from Caring Bridge:

Tuesday, August 24, 2010 3:43 PM, CDT

There was an article in the Dallas Morning News today about people who use social-networking sites, such as Caring Bridge, to communicate with friends & family about their health status. This is an article that I was interviewed for, and I was quoted and pictured in it. If you want to read it, you can find it at this link: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/healthyliving2/stories/082310dnliv-social-networking-for-cancer-patients.8209e53a.html (The pictures are only shown in the print newspaper, not on-line.)

Overall, I was disappointed in the article. The reporter got a lot of details about my diagnosis/treatment incorrect (which is not a big deal to me), but what is a big deal to me is that all of my references to the Lord were erased. When I was contacted by the reporter a couple of months ago, I agreed to the interview only because I thought it would be a great opportunity to share my faith in Jesus Christ and proclaim His name. Unfortunately, the reporter chose to ‘edit out’ all of my references to the Lord. From my perspective, you cannot accurately tell the story of any aspect of my cancer journey (or my life) without mentioning the Lord. So, I’m sad that the reporter, and now the readers, don’t understand the central theme of my story – Jesus Christ.

Moreover, I feel that the reporter completely misrepresented me when she said in her article, "Melinda Wells searched the internet for inspiration." What?! Are you kidding me? I search the Bible for inspiration, and I turn to the internet to facilitate communication with my friends and family – a BIG difference. I truly do not understand how the reporter could make that statement after interviewing me for two hours. Can I demand a retraction? Is this how politicians feel when they read what people say about them in the papers? (Shout out to George W. – we don’t believe any of the nonsense that was written about you in the media. We love that you moved home to Dallas, and we so appreciate your sacrificial service to our country!)

The one thing that thrilled me about the article was the close-up, color picture of the artwork that my friends’ children created for me when I was in the hospital. I have them all hanging up on my wall at home, and the photographer captured a close-up of three pictures. I was so thrilled to call my friend, Amy, and tell her that the drawing that her triplet 6-year-old boys drew for me of the SuperBowl teams was printed in the newspaper! And also my friend, Jen, has a five-year-old boy whose creative interpretation of the appearance of my hospital room was included in the close-up picture, too. So fun! I quickly told the moms to go out and buy a paper, so that they can show the kids their artwork printed in the paper! I can’t wait to hear how they react!

In the end, I'm sure that the reporter didn't intend to make me feel misrepresented. It was an article about Caring Bridge, not an article about me. But obviously my experience with Caring Bridge is a result of my cancer journey, which I feel cannot be told accurately without some reference to the Lord. And I do not think that I could have used the words, "the Lord", more often in the interview. She just chose to omit what I think is of utmost importance. Apparently, she (or the editor) felt otherwise. In closing, I hope that this article in the newspaper will inform many people about the Caring Bridge website, how it can facilitate communication, prayer, and encouragement between the one who is ill and their network of friends, family, and even strangers that are praying for them.

And maybe, someone who reads the article will search for my name on the Caring Bridge website and find my blog that tells the real story of my cancer journey. As it says on the top of the blog:

"…that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:10-11

All glory to the Lord,

Melinda

Anxiety Is Practicing Failure In Advance

How is that for a catchy title? Recently, my wife, Ann Day, shared this with a group of ladies for discussion. The article is taken from Seth Godin's new book, Linchpin and shown below. I read the book a few months ago and have shared it with many people. I highly recommend it as a book that can change your perspective about your life.

I have known of Seth Godin for years - he has authored many books including Permission Marketing which is now widely practiced by most Internet marketers. As a result of reading Linchpin I was introduced to Seth's Blog (http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/). Everyday you receive a fresh dose of Seth's wisdom. Another influencer of my life, Mike Vance, said, "You will be the same tomorrow as you are today except for the books you read and the people you meet". A daily dose of Seth will start your day with a new challenging thought that will lead you to a constant evaluation of your life and how and why you do what you do.

Anxiety steals your life . . . you can step out of it. As I was looking for this article I searched his blog for "Anxiety" and had 20+ hits. It is clear that Seth's thoughts and wisdom on Anxiety come from his personal struggle with it. He is a "fellow struggler". Phil 4:6,7 is a great prescription.

I also came across an interview with Seth on Linchpin by Catalyst . For the interview go to http://vimeo.com/8900789. It is 25 minutes long but definitely worth the time. At the very end he shares how he is able to come up with all the great stuff he does on the blog.

Here's the article . . . Enjoy:

Anxiety Is Practicing Failure In Advance

Anxiety is needless and imaginary. It’s fear about fear, fear that means nothing.

The difference between fear and anxiety: Anxiety is diffuse and focuses on possibilities in an unknown future, not a real and present threat. The resistance is 100% about anxiety, because humans have developed other emotions and warnings to help us avoid actual threats. Anxiety, on the other hand, is an internal construct with no relation to the outside world. “Needless anxiety” is redundant, because anxiety is always needless. Anxiety doesn’t protect you from danger, but from doing great things. It keeps you awake at night and foretells a future that’s not going to happen.

On the other hand, fear is about staying alive, avoiding snakes, feeding your family, and getting the right to play again tomorrow. Fear should be paid careful attention. There’s not a lot of genuine fear here in our world, so when it appears, it’s worth noting.

Anxiety, on the other hand, is dangerous paralysis. Anxiety is the exaggeration of the worst possible what-if, accompanied by self-talk that leads to the relentless minimization of the actual odds of success.

Anxiety makes it impossible to do art, because it feeds the resistance, giving the lizard brain insane power over us. It’s impossible to be a linchpin if you agree to feed your anxiety.

You’ll notice that throughout this book I’ve often used the word “fear” when I really meant anxiety. That’s because we do it all the time, confusing the two . . . a bad habit.

From Linchpin
Seth Godin