Ten years ago, in 2014, the philosopher Alain de Botton published one of his less successful books: The News, A User’s Manual. De Botton took aim at news outlets, suggesting they were sensationalist, fleeting and superficial, failed to represent the vast majority of people’s experiences, and obsessed with celebrities and disasters. He suggested that, even if we know all this, we underestimate the impact that the news has on our subconscious. And he suggested a number of ways it could be reformed.
Perhaps not surprisingly – given that de Botton was criticising journalists and journalism – the book had some negative reviews. Reviewers suggested he was naive, failed to take account of how news empires work and what sells. And yet, as I catch myself reacting like a grumpy old man to the latest headlines with alarming frequency, I suspect he was largely right in terms of their impact.
So it’s refreshing indeed to come across the occasional good-news story. One such, published a few days ago, was an account of the post-Paris activities of the Olympic rower, Imogen Grant, and her championing of action to improve the water quality of our rivers and lakes: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rowing/articles/c23ke48m34no
Grant also champions the idea that everyone can do something in the face of climate change, that there’s a world of difference between doing what we can, even if it seems little, and doing nothing on the assumption that it’s all up to politicians. One of her personal actions has been to follow a vegan diet for the last couple of years, quite impressive given the muscular endurance nature of rowing. (I confess I’ve only managed to be semi-vegan so far, i.e. vegan on around half the days of the week, maybe I should try a bit harder … Another of Grant’s actions – avoiding clothes shopping for as long as possible – comes more easily, given my laziness with respect to personal appearance!)
Individuals like Imogen Grant help to restore one’s faith in humanity. And, to some degree at least, the news. Maybe de Botton’s book succeeded in having some positive influence after all.
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