My late mother would tell me off for reading too many comics as a child. "But they make so much sense mum and they brighten up your life", I would say, or something similar in Punjabi and she would reply with "watch the news, my son, it is far more informative and factual."
Growing up in abject poverty, watching the news was rubbish, and comics and fictional stories far more fun, as it offered an opportunity to escape. Roll forward a few decades and I must admit I don’t really watch the Television. But, if I happen to, it tends to be the news. With my favourite news programme being Channel 4 as it is an extended version of the news or political news programmes on a Sunday morning. If I so happen to be anywhere in the world, I will always switch on one of the news channels.
The challenge now, is that the credibility of the news being broadcast is lost. There is no guarantee that what is being broadcast is in fact accurate or true, with stories covered and portrayed, being politically swayed.
We have become gullible at following the news blindly agreeing with what is being shared, only to then find out that it wasn’t true, but no one admitting it, and moving onto the next news story.
Choosing which stories to cover and not giving equal opportunity, is another challenge in the press and media, with subjective censorship becoming the norm. It is far easier and attractive to constantly peddle negativity than it is to share positive news. And as a society we have become far more attuned to complaining than celebrating.
As we grew up, our news was fed primarily by papers and television, which meant that there was a lag, and world events weren’t as prevalent. Now, there is video of major world incidents before the news crew have even landed, which makes the world a smaller place. Stories that would be brushed aside now have to be covered, but it is interesting the difference in how each story is covered dependent upon which channel you tune into.
Instant gratification and constant distraction is the new norm. We have become information obsessed. And understandably, in a Pandemic, we are all looking for leadership and details on what we should and shouldn’t be doing, and what will and won’t be happening to us.
The last few weeks have seen council leaders, and mayors going to logger heads with the Government. Rightly or wrongly, but all very publicly. We are all looking for a sense of direction and certainty. Sadly, the one thing we can be certain of, is that for the foreseeable future, there will only be uncertainty. There is so much nonsense being communicated that it is hard to decipher what you should and shouldn’t do. Which is one of the major challenges for businesses, how do you plan for a future when you don’t know if you will have one?
At the start of the Pandemic we had launched the Save our SME campaign and encouraged every business owner to focus on getting their business into shape. Cutting through the noise and developing a resilient business model. All of the businesses we have supported in doing so are surviving, with a number actually thriving.
Alongside being resilient, the one thing we should develop is nerd immunity, focusing on the facts and the future. Now, rather than the news I think I will start going back to comics, maybe not far off the news for facts, but far more fun.
Ammar Mirza CBE is Chair & Founder of Asian Business Connexions, Chair of the NELEP Business Growth Board, Chair of the IoD North East (North) and holds various positions across the public and private sectors.
