--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The trouble with the media is that it…" description: "\"The trouble with the media is that it seems unable to distinguish between the end of the world and a bicycle accident.\" — George Bernard Shaw" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/481/george-bernard-shaw-68_accident_the-trouble-with-the-media-is-that-it-se_1188470.png" --- # The trouble with the media is that it seems unable to… ![“The trouble with the media is that it seems unable to distinguish between the end of the world and a bicycle accident.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/481/george-bernard-shaw-68_accident_the-trouble-with-the-media-is-that-it-se_1188470.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/481/george-bernard-shaw-68_accident_the-trouble-with-the-media-is-that-it-se_1188470.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/481/george-bernard-shaw-68_accident_the-trouble-with-the-media-is-that-it-se_1188470.png) > “The trouble with the media is that it seems unable to distinguish between the end of the world and a bicycle accident.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The media often sensationalizes trivial events as if they were catastrophic, blurring importance. **In simple terms:** Media exaggerates minor events. Key Takeaway Critically evaluate news importance. Themes media sensationalism truth Mood skeptical alert Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - daily news - social media - public discourse Key Concepts journalism information overload Questions to Reflect On - How do you discern real urgency? - What sources are reliable? A Different Perspective The media also sometimes underplays serious issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accident/) [Accidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) [Bicycle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bicycle/) [End of the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-of-the-world/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [My father had Parkinson's, though he actually died following a bicycle accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kt-tunstall/my-father-had-parkinson-s-though-he-actually-died-following-a-bicycle/) [KT Tunstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kt-tunstall/) > [Newspaper : A device unable to distinguish between a bicycle accident and the collapse of civilisation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/newspaper-a-device-unable-to-distinguish-between-a-bicycle-accident/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The country is in some trouble, because the media, which is supposed to provide a check and balance on government, has decided to stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-newmark/the-country-is-in-some-trouble-because-the-media-which-is-supposed-to/) [Craig Newmark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-newmark/) > [Newspapers are unable, seemingly, to discriminate between a bicycle accident and the collapse of civilisation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/newspapers-are-unable-seemingly-to-discriminate-between-a-bicycle/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Newspapers are unable, seemingly to discriminate between a bicycle accident and the collapse of civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/newspapers-are-unable-seemingly-to-discriminate-between-a-bicycle-2/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“...and as a result yet today we are unable to distinguish between sympathy and selfishness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-h-rakib/and-as-a-result-yet-today-we-are-unable-to-distinguish-between/) [M.H. Rakib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-h-rakib/) > [I am unable to distinguish between the feeling I have for life and my way of expressing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/i-am-unable-to-distinguish-between-the-feeling-i-have-for-life-and-my/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [I am unable to distinguish clearly between your religious ceremonies and apparently identical behavior at the sporting and cultural functions you have transmitted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/i-am-unable-to-distinguish-clearly-between-your-religious-ceremonies/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“I loved you head over handles like my first bicycle accident— before the mouthful of gravel and blood, I swore we were flying. -Cycle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sierra-demulder/i-loved-you-head-over-handles-like-my-first-bicycle-accident-before/) [Sierra Demulder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sierra-demulder/) > [“I loved you head over handles like my first bicycle accident — before the mouthful of gravel and blood, I swore we were flying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sierra-demulder/i-loved-you-head-over-handles-like-my-first-bicycle-accident-before-2/) [Sierra Demulder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sierra-demulder/) > [Can you understand why the Congress, most states and most cities refuse to pass legislation requiring the registration and licensing of any and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/can-you-understand-why-the-congress-most-states-and-most-cities/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [I think if I got a bicycle from my father, I should give a car to my son.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/i-think-if-i-got-a-bicycle-from-my-father-i-should-give-a-car-to-my/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [At that age, it's one of the worse things in the world to wake up and not see your bike where you left it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-jackson/at-that-age-it-s-one-of-the-worse-things-in-the-world-to-wake-up-and/) [Curtis Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-jackson/) > [Life is like a bicycle; keep moving on to maintain balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/life-is-like-a-bicycle-keep-moving-on-to-maintain-balance/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel...the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/i-stand-and-rejoice-every-time-i-see-a-woman-ride-by-on-a-wheel-the/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More Accident quotes > [Fame, we may understand, is no sure test of merit, but only a probability of such: it is an accident, not a property, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/fame-we-may-understand-is-no-sure-test-of-merit-but-only-a/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [I went to school at night in L.A. to brush up on my engineering while I applied to the astronaut program. I really did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-jemison/i-went-to-school-at-night-in-l-a-to-brush-up-on-my-engineering-while/) [Mae Jemison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-jemison/) > [“The accident in your rearview mirror already happened. The one in front of you is still preventable. Pay attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nakia-r-laushaul/the-accident-in-your-rearview-mirror-already-happened-the-one-in/) [Nakia R. Laushaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nakia-r-laushaul/) > [People dont get married by accident and they dont get divorced by accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hayes/people-dont-get-married-by-accident-and-they-dont-get-divorced-by/) [Darren Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hayes/) > [My father had Parkinson's, though he actually died following a bicycle accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kt-tunstall/my-father-had-parkinson-s-though-he-actually-died-following-a-bicycle/) [KT Tunstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kt-tunstall/) > [A tragic car accident put me in a wheelchair and dashed my hopes and dreams for the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-cawthorn/a-tragic-car-accident-put-me-in-a-wheelchair-and-dashed-my-hopes-and/) [Madison Cawthorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-cawthorn/) > [My musical career was an accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade-adu/my-musical-career-was-an-accident/) [Sade Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade-adu/) > [The spirit in the body is like wine in a glass; when it spills, it seeps into air and earth and light….It’s a mistake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-michaels/the-spirit-in-the-body-is-like-wine-in-a-glass-when-it-spills-it/) [Anne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-michaels/) > [accident ruled every corner of the universe except the chambers of the human heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/accident-ruled-every-corner-of-the-universe-except-the-chambers-of/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [There is a French expression that says: to be exposed to an accident, to cross a street without looking at the cars means exposing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/there-is-a-french-expression-that-says-to-be-exposed-to-an-accident/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [It's no accident that most self-help groups use 'anonymous' in their names; to Americans, the first step toward redemption is a ritual wiping out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/it-s-no-accident-that-most-self-help-groups-use-anonymous-in-their/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [High birth is an accident, not a virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietro-metastasio/high-birth-is-an-accident-not-a-virtue/) [Pietro Metastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietro-metastasio/) > [“I just got out of the hospital. I was in a speed reading accident. I hit a book mark and flew across the room.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/i-just-got-out-of-the-hospital-i-was-in-a-speed-reading-accident-i/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [However, I met with a horrible accident while riding my bike in Sangla Valley. The accident was a wakeup call for me stop getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhinav-shukla/however-i-met-with-a-horrible-accident-while-riding-my-bike-in-sangla/) [Abhinav Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhinav-shukla/) > [“Because the core of my personal philosophy is that everything that happens to us benefits us, I was also spared the futility of cursing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/because-the-core-of-my-personal-philosophy-is-that-everything-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 922 Accident quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accident/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The trouble with the media is that it seems unable to distinguish between the end of the world and a bicycle accident.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Bernard Shaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-trouble-with-the-media-is-that-it-seems-unable-to-distinguish/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accident" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-trouble-with-the-media-is-that-it-seems-unable-to-distinguish/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/481/george-bernard-shaw-68_accident_the-trouble-with-the-media-is-that-it-se_1188470.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/481/george-bernard-shaw-68_accident_the-trouble-with-the-media-is-that-it-se_1188470.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/481/george-bernard-shaw-68_accident_the-trouble-with-the-media-is-that-it-se_1188470.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The trouble with the media is that it seems unable to distinguish between the end of the world and a bicycle…” — George Bernard Shaw", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "George Bernard Shaw", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The trouble with the media is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-trouble-with-the-media-is-that-it-seems-unable-to-distinguish/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-trouble-with-the-media-is-that-it-seems-unable-to-distinguish/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```