Consider the source

We are under siege! A terrible danger threatens Europe !!!! DAISY is coming !!

Before you get worried: it is winter. It is cold. There is snow. And "Daisy" is the name of the current low pressure area that, I admit it, brings a lot of snow as well as wind, and this storm is what makes it dangerous. But I want to talk about how weather like this is covered in certain types of media, in certain newspapers and on certain TV channels.

"Why are we afraid of Daisy ?" asks the headline of an online article of Germany's biggest popular newspaper, BILD. Well, because you tell us to? "Snow Chaos" - "Supermarkets empty" - "Daisy has Europe under control " -- the headlines make it sound like some kind of war preparation. I remember a similar winter in the 1970s. Yes, there were reports on TV and advice how to prepare yourself for emergencies, but I cannot remember that this kind of panic was created.

Don't get me wrong: I know it is dangerous to drive on icy roads or in a blizzard. I have got matches, candles, a battery powered radio and some food stored in the house. I stay at home if possible. I see that I am quite lucky and that other areas of Germany are hit worse by the snow. And I look across the Atlantic to my American friends and the battles they fight with that kind of weather every year. But the news coverage makes me angry - one headline more sensational than the other which only fuels unnecessary panic. Selling the news, the paper, the time on TV, that is what it is all about, not factual information.

Let's be a bit more critical. Consider the source, if I may quote the advice of a friend's mother. Look for factual and serious information and advice.

Be prepared, be careful - but don't panic !