The signature scent of vomit, excrement and orchids?
You're right about the world being smaller. We have access to news 24/7. Once the story is initially reported it stops being news. But we have to suffer for days and weeks of debates by pundits and "experts" ensuring that the crap doesnt leak out of our consciousness. At that point, they're not reporting news anymore. They're just killing airtime. They have to broadcast something over those 24 hours of airtime and dirty laundry and mass casualties help the ratings. God forbid they should report on a random act of kindess or a story of hope.
Yesterday I stopped at a restaurant for bowl of soup. I forgot my wallet and was digging around in the bottom of my purse for change and the cashier told me to forget about it and *gave* me the soup. That small act of kindess surprised me and lifted my spirits for the entire day.