Blog Post

NEWS

If It Bleeds, It Leads

  • By Search Marketing Specialists
  • 23 Mar, 2018

Understanding fear-based news

Image for a retiree using smartphone on a retirement village on the Gold Coast
Credits: Images from unsplash.com

The Internet and Smartphones are two major influences in our lives today, have you thought about the dramatic change these two phenomena’s have made to life? The Internet has taken the old yellow pages saying “Let Your Fingers do the Walking” way beyond what we could imagine. We literally now do not have to leave our house to shop, eat we can even travel virtually by looking at a YouTube Video.

Smartphones? Well that’s taken the experience of sitting in front of a Screen to enjoy all what the Internet gives and moving it all into the palm of our hands. Truly exciting times, yes, we have become a little lazier in some respects, but a lot of life has become easier but sadly like all good things there is the potential of a dark side.

Now? With Smartphones and Mobile Data Everybody is a reporter, with review pages, Facebook, Twitter everyone gets the chance to be an Investigative reporter. What this has done is make the news agency’s up their game to get your attention. The end result is a reporting trend that is a little alarming, you could call it making a mountain out of a molehill, sensationalising anything but it actually has a Tag Line and it goes like this, “Fear-Based News”.

What is Fear based News driven by? “If it bleeds, it leads”. Fear-based news programming has two aims. The first is to grab the viewer's attention. In the news media, this is called the teaser. The second aim is to persuade the viewer that the solution for reducing the identified fear will be in the news story. If a teaser asks, "What's in your tap water that YOU need to know about?" a viewer will likely tune in to get the up-to-date information to ensure safety.

This type of news feed has been used a lot this past few months to target Retirement Villages and Contracts, and we at De Paul Manor Estate on the Gold Cost are naturally alarmed about this trend.

Let us put it in this perspective...

There are well over 2000 retirement Villages in Australia, 60% of villages are owned and operated by big and small private companies. The other 40% of villages are owned and operated by big and small Not for Profit organisations, church and charities plus local community groups.

There is well over 200,000 residents that live in these retirement villages with contracts that’s a lot of people yet what did the headlines say? “Contracts to complicated” Retirement Village Contracts need Urgent Review” all very scary you would think it was a massive problem, but was it?

Well out of that 2000 retirement villages in Australia the massive total number of issues was? Four.

The Retirement Village Industry which De Paul Manor Estate on the Gold Coast is part of has had regulation in place for 37 years and it has served all involved well, so feel safe and secure when dealing with us when making your retirement choices on the Gold Coast.

Now sit back and enjoy the wonderful things the Internet and Smart Phones offer, and maybe turn off the news for a while.


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Your home has become too large, maintenance is a problem, safety and home security has begun to worry you, loneliness or isolation is getting you down, the desire to travel knowing that your home is safe and being maintained, any of these can be indications that the time has come to look at other alternatives. A retirement community may be a solution to these worries by providing a more secure and enjoyable lifestylethus relieving those anxieties.
By Search Marketing Specialists 26 Dec, 2018
On our website, we have the traditional “ About us ”. It goes like this: "Designed specifically for over 65s, De Paul Manor Estate is one of the premier Retirement Village’s on the Gold Coast. It offers the intimate, ‘boutique’ retirement villages community nestled amongst landscaped grounds and natural bushland just minutes from the fabulous Gold Coast beaches in central Ashmore. Featuring just 79 spacious apartments, De Paul Manor Estate exudes a distinct sense of quality throughout and offers a maintenance-free lifestyle, complete with a host of resort-style amenities including an exclusive ‘Residents’ Retreat’, state of the art security, a community of new friends with similar values and a caring, on-site management team focused on providing the very best service for residents."
By Search Marketing Specialists 29 Nov, 2018
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Some propose that ageing ‘successfully’ involves the maintenance of physical and cognitive function, the absence of disease, and a sustained involvement in productive activities. Even in our last article we highlighted the importance of physical fitness as we grow older and the facilities we have at De Paul Manor Estateon the Gold Coast to encourage that Physical activity.
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Have you heard any of these quotes from any of your loved ones or others? Yes, it seems like comments like this become a natural progression as we age, for some reason, many of those around us think that exercise and get up and go should be advised to take a rest, to lay down and rest the moment we hit retirement or close to it.

Well, here is some motivation, you can be fit, you can grow muscles at any age, and that’s a fact.
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Finally, the day has arrived, you clock off for the final time and after all those years of waking up early five days a week, spending time behind a desk, a steering wheel, a machine, a PC whatever work you may have done the time has come, the 65 years have rolled by and it’s now retirement time.
By Sue Benseman 17 Jul, 2018
"To our Friends,

The residents who have been and are still caring and kind to me especially whilst Ken has been hospitalized for the last month and a half.  Your support has been truly appreciated and I cannot thank you all enough.  I think without you kind people helping me when I truly needed it, I would have collapsed in one big heap!

Management, Sue, Jess and Trudy must be included in my grateful thanks, as always there to help when needed.  It is quite true, the Manor is one big caring family, Thank You again one and all." 

Val Connolly
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 Jessica Madden, Operations Manager, De Paul Manor Estate was joint runner up in the  National  Retirement Village Manager of the Year 2018, and is seen here with her floral tribute organised by the Residents' Committee on behalf of all residents who were delighted in her achievement.  

"The LASA (Leading Age Services Australia) Retirement Village Manager of the Year Award promotes and recognises excellence across the diverse and dynamic fields of endeavour in the retirement living industry.

This award celebrates the passion and achievements of those individuals who continually maintain high standards in customer service, sales and marketing, complaints and dispute resolution and robust operational management processes across their retirement community.

The award also highlights the important role that retirement communities play in providing affordable, age appropriate housing and vibrant social and community services for senior Australians. " 
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