A media shockwave ran through Belgium on the evening of December 13th 2006 as a fictitious (extra) news bulletin was broadcasted on (french speaking) national television, announcing a declaration of independence from the Flemish speaking part. The elaborate broadcast hoax included live reporters, interviews with some politicians etc. The effects were reminiscent of Orson Welles’ famous ‘War of the worlds’ hearplay. The whole event received international coverage (see here ) and was followed by a tsunami of criticism ranging from bad humour, political responsibilities, political motives to ethics, deontology and credibility of journalism, etc.

In futures studies, fictitious newsbulletins of the future, as we know, are powerful instruments to visualize ‘what if’-questions and spark debate, and like all powerful instruments they require to be handled with care, in a contextualized manner.

‘The medium is the message’

- Marshall McLuhan

Related posts:

1. Science fiction, science faction

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 14th, 2006 at 17:53 and is filed under future. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.