We continue to be bombarded with articles about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars even though nothing has substantively changed since Monday evening when Smith issued his apology.
“The noise” created by stories like this — squeezed for every last morsel of detail — driven by our clicks and eyeballs — means other stories won’t get attention they deserve.
A New York Times investigation published Wednesday found 500,000 children under six in America have elevated levels of lead in their blood. The report blames actions by real estate and insurance companies and was made worse by the pandemic when more kids stayed home, increasing their exposure, while testing fell by 50%. https://www.nytimes.com/…/03/29/us/lead-poisoning.html
The health effects of lead in young children can be severe, long-lasting and progress undetected for years. I visited Flint, Michigan in Sept. 2016 to see how the lead water crisis had changed the first day of school.
This report — also drowned out by noise. The noise that day was a visit from then-candidate Donald Trump who proceeded to give a version of his stump speech at a local church, was interrupted by the pastor and accused of using Flint as a photo op.
Lost in the noise — stories that mattered.