I am amused by all the recent reports in the media of shark attacks in Florida and other places. Ironically, on Sept. 10, 2001, stories of shark attacks also filled the pages of local newspapers and the screens of our televisions. In fact, for the entire summer before Sept. 11, 2001, stories of shark attacks in Florida, up and down the East Coast and in the Caribbean were played out daily in newspapers, magazines, and network and cable television. Seaside resorts, hotels and beaches all reported a decline in people going into the water.

As I watched another shark story the other day, I thought, where did the sharks all go for the past four years? After 9/11, there were no more shark stories. Is it that the terrorists scared them away and they went out to sea to hide? I think not! Instead, the media no longer chose to cover shark attacks and instead focused on the attacks of 9/11 and homeland security issues. Also, since the spring of 2003, the media have predominantly filled our newspapers and televisions with reports regarding the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and the presidential election.

So what does the shark attack coverage mean to me? It means we are getting back to things as they were prior to 9/11. The media can certainly have a significant influence on public opinion. Based on what stories the media are covering, how they spin them and how the public receives the information, they can have tremendous persuasion over how priorities in our society are established.

Even on July 7, 2005, when bombings occurred on the London subway and bus, there were still stories of shark attacks on the evening news. Have we come full circle? Are terrorist attacks now a way of life that we can expect and accept, or has the lack of a terrorist attack on American soil since 9/11 made us complacent again?

Billions of federal dollars have been poured into programs to prevent and prepare us for another terrorist attack. Small communities that never envisioned having the latest and greatest gadgetry now marvel at the equipment they have received courtesy of the federal government. For years before 9/11, the fire service tried to get federal money handed out to fire departments in the same way the Justice Department doled out money to police departments. It took 9/11 to make that happen with the FIRE Act grants. But don’t expect this pipeline of money to continue forever.