Hysteria: Is the media trying to scare tourists away from South Carolina!

Tourism deposits more than $17 billion-a -year into South Carolina's economy.

Is the media, with paranoia and hysteria, trying to damage the state’s No. 1 industry?

It's the Biggest Week for Vacationers in South Carolina. And the day after the Fourth of July, The State newspaper in Columbia (SC) runs a large, highly sensational, BEACH WATER BACTERIA THREAT in a headline AT THE TOP OF THE FRONT PAGE.

It's an URGENT WARNING that our beaches, especially on the Grand Strand, may not be safe.

The media, specifically The State newspaper’s environmental writer, is allegedly upset because Grand Strand officials are only posting CAUTION signs at the few points where there may be some dirty water washing into the surf, from the streets, after a rain storm.

The reasoning, by local officials, is that people may not be reading a newspaper or listening to news before going to the beach.

The media thinks it is irresponsible that local officials are not running to the media, screaming with URGENT ALERTS after a rain storm at Myrtle Beach.

Simply put: It may not be a good idea to swim near a drain pipe. Things get washed into the ocean.

The media's warning is much more ominous sounding than the issue of water run-off.

The consequences of swimming near a drain, after a storm are eventually detailed in the three-quarter, page front-page article. It boils down to there are a handful, if that many, spots on the 60 miles of Grand Strand that may contain higher-than-normal levels of bacteria a few times during the summer.

The State warns [ Swimming in polluted seawater can increase a person’s chances of getting an upset stomach, sore throat or head cold. A 2009 federal study found that those who ducked their heads in the ocean at Surfside Beach had a “higher incidence” of skin rashes, earaches and gastrointestinal illnesses than non-swimmers.]

Like so many things in the establishment media, the report mentions a study, but it did not identify who conducted the study. And the newspaper reporter did not produce one person who had complained of the symptoms.

Near the end of the article The State does refer to an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The non-profit (does that mean environmental activist?) attorney said: “the more notice the public can have the better. You make sure the word is getting out about these problems.”

The State's reporter also references “the federal safe swimming standard.” Do we really need (or trust) the federal government to tell us it may not be a good idea to swim in what amounts to a mud-puddle. 

The State also looks to North Carolina, where a warning is issued to the media, and implies South Carolina should follow their system to meet the media's standards.