Another typical media attempt to breed fear.

Stories like this really piss me off. It’s like someone said, “Hey, I think we could get more hits to our Web site it we published a story that said the Northeast was likely to get hit by a hurricane this season.”

So they wrote the story: “Threat of Major Hurricane Strike Grows for Northeast”, complete with the subtitle, “AccuWeather.com Warns That ‘Weather Disaster of Historic Proportions’ Could Strike as Early as This Year.”

They go on to say:

“The Northeast is staring down the barrel of a gun,” said Joe Bastardi, Chief Forecaster of the AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center. “The Northeast coast is long overdue for a powerful hurricane, and with the weather patterns and hydrology we’re seeing in the oceans, the likelihood of a major hurricane making landfall in the Northeast is not a question of if but when.”

They then discuss the last major hurricane to hit the northeast, which was in 1938, leaving me with the impression that someone had done a statistical analysis on the odds of it happening again this year.

Heck, I haven’t won $7 on a lottery ticket in months. Statistically speaking, it looks like I’m due to win again soon!

Just more evidence that the U.S. media’s main marketing strategy is to keep the U.S. public in fear.