Am I alone? Or do others find themselves trying to actively disengage from the news?

[Oz investor]

last i heard PBS was taken off the channel in Australia , which i think was a shame i learned a fair bit from their business segment ,

so i rarely watch TV ( or listen to radio ) anymore

 

[Walt34]

And occasionally there is entertainment value in the news:

"Sir, why did you drive your pickup truck through the Walmart?"

"Well, I was trying to run over my girlfriend, but she moved."

Ya just can't make this stuff up.

Police: Man tries to run over girlfriend, plows pickup truck through Walmart

 

[MichaelB]

And occasionally there is entertainment value in the news:

"Sir, why did you drive your pickup truck through the Walmart?"

"Well, I was trying to run over my girlfriend, but she moved."

Ya just can't make this stuff up.

Police: Man tries to run over girlfriend, plows pickup truck through Walmart

 

[youbet]

Some mention trusting NPR (or their local version) - I find them to be the most insidious in a way, because they are subtle about it, and a lot of people do trust them. Some other sources are pretty clearly biased, so our guard is up.

Absolutely agree! Our local NPR radio station here in the Chicago area clearly has a focused political agenda and they sell it all the time. Most of the time, as you say, it's subtle. Sometimes, not so much. But it's always there. The guests they have on, the subjects of discussions, the words they use to describe things or situations, folks they chose to interview, all point in the same direction.

I no longer contribute to that big Chicago station and let them know why. (Yeah, yeah..... like my $120 annual gift mattered.) Instead I contribute to a public station broadcasting out of our local junior college. (Bigger and more professional than that description sounds......) They have NO editorial slant whatsoever and feature NO programs designed to "educate me on how I should be thinking........" .

Our Chicago public TV station is move even keeled than the Chicago PBS radio station. In fact, Nightly Business Report is one of my favorite shows. I continue contributions there. I also like the public TV station out of NW Indiana although I don't contribute to them.

 

[Helena]

I spend much more time now going backwards in time to gain more perspective. Bonus is that nobody wants to read history books or really any book written a long time ago, so there are usually no waits in the online libraries.

I love history, and I have my favorite eras.

You've heard the old saying... "those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

But most of the history that we know was written by the victors.

In Orwell's novel, "1984", Winston's "Ministry of Truth" job was to literally rewrite history for Big Brother. How much easier that is today with the invention of the internet. It also reminds me of Orwell's other famous novel, "Animal Farm", where the animal rules were plainly written on the barn wall. But that didn't stop the elite "pigs" from rewriting history by secretly rewriting and changing a rule. Then the pigs retrained the sheep to repeat the revised rule as a new mantra. Most of the other animals fell in line assuming the rule had been that way from the beginning.

.

 

[FreeBear]

Watching broadcast new does not mean you are well informed. Those sources apply all sorts of filters in addition to pushing through a bunch of waste time crap. It is possible to be well informed by actively seeking information rather than have a bunch of junk spoonfed to you.

That's the ticket! Like storm chasing contractors and social engineering email fishing schemes to steal your bank password, crap that shows up uninvited and unsought is it's own sign of trouble.

Enough slips through my filters of seeming indifference that I occasionally realize that I need to dig more deeply. Two topics of interest in recent years include the importance (or not) of cancer screening and the risk (or not) imposed by Islam as a religion. I'm currently learning more about Islam via online open courses on EdX.

 

[Dash man]

I can certainly understand tuning out the news and noise. I am doing some of that myself. However, I still hope smart people like those on this Board will research the candidates and issues and VOTE.

I just wish we had someone to vote for rather than against!

 

[Golden sunsets]

Just another opinion but I feel that the media is reporting the problem, not causing it. The problem is the divisive politics on BOTH sides. I don’t want to tread into porky territory here but the lack of civility in politics at the State and Federal levels is breathtaking.

Not a day goes by that I don’t say to myself, you just can’t make this stuff up. How much worse can it get.? And then a new day dawns.

 

[HFWR]

How much worse can it get?

Careful, some apparently take that as a challenge..

 

[Oz investor]

if you are a US citizen , you can always run yourself

a good start would be to irritate Senator McCain , to get some cheap publicity ( it worked for Paris Hilton )

Vincent Furnier gave it a shot and he is a real shocker

 

[Markola]

The news is very important. I need two sheets of it to light my Weber grill. Seriously, I’m glad it’s there because the opposite is unthinkable but it is so depressing these days that I avoid reading it. After 1 minute on the front page headlines I feel an unpleasant physical sensation as my gentle good mood dissipates and I need to put it down before the outrage reaction the writer is obviously aiming to stoke kicks in and ruins my buzz. Again! The journalists’ and politicians’ interests lie in keeping me angry, fearful, confused, tantalized and dependent on them to tell me what my tribe should think about whatever the vital matter of the day is. Apparently, I’m the only one who will break that cycle, so I’m reading less news. And I definitely got off Facebook.

 

[Oz investor]

i am on this drug named Bicor ... it so good it should be banned

drunken humor all month and MUCH cheaper than scotch or mescal

OH WAIT it is highly restricted

sadly it still makes the news boring LOL

 

[Dtail]

I just wish we had someone to vote for rather than against!

Amen to that.

 

[LARS]

Guess a lot of us are not the only ones... surprise, surprise. Not.

Freaked-Out Americans Desperately Seek to Escape the News

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...paign=news&utm_medium=bd&utm_source=applenews

 

[Mdlerth]

Run Dash Man, Run!

One reason I pay (some) attention to the news is so I can talk (somewhat) intelligently about it with other people. Seems like politics comes up a lot in conversations. Back when I wasn't paying any attention to the news, if the subject of politics or current events came up, I wouldn't have anything to say.

Don't underestimate the value of having nothing to say. People think I'm much more interesting when I am listening than when I am talking.

I just wish we had someone to vote for rather than against!

I'm getting on the Dash Man bandwagon now, so when you throw your hat into the ring I can say I backed DM before it was cool!

 

[Midpack]

My sister found this and passed it along, right or wrong.

Guess there might be a few top center I could try out. I’ve never sought out AP or Reuters directly, but I see them used as sources all the time.

 

[misshathaway]

I love history, and I have my favorite eras.

You've heard the old saying... "those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

But most of the history that we know was written by the victors.

.

Fake history! But it is illuminating to read many accounts of the same era and first-person from people who lived through different events.

Media presentation seems so black and white, then you go into the history of any current issue, and it's not like that. Vague but I don't want to start any disputes.

 

[braumeister]

My sister found this and passed it along, right or wrong.

Guess there might be a few top center I could try out. I’ve never sought out AP or Reuters directly, but I see them used as sources all the time.

I've used Reuters as my home page for a long time.

 

[Aerides]

Midpack, that's a great chart.

I rarely stray out of the "green" for news. Once I do, I know I'm going for a take or more entertainment and opinion than actual information.

 

[marko]

My sister found this and passed it along, right or wrong.

I think there is a correlation between how much people care and their frustration level with the news.

I find the less I care, the less the news--what little I see anymore--bothers me.
Never had much of an empathy gene in the first place but I find my blood pressure is a lot better by not taking any of it too seriously.

 

[Cobra9777]

My sister found this and passed it along, right or wrong.

Guess there might be a few top center I could try out...

Hmm... NPR is pretty high and center, considering all the bashing earlier in this thread.

I don't listen very often, but it seems like pretty intelligent, factual reporting... and definitely more in-depth than you typically get elsewhere. Yes, there is a liberal bias, but I've always thought the discussion and analysis were remarkably balanced and civil.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I try to stay away from the news but as a retired journalist, it's hard. No broadcast news and I cut cable so no cable news for the most part. I did make an exception when I saw online about the shooting at the Capital Gazette. Turned on CBS News streaming for that and have felt very upset the last two days.

Your quote brings up the perfect example of why I try to ignore the news. In the case of the shooting, it is very sad, and making one sad for even a single day adds very little value (all negative) to my life. The fact is that in a country of 330 million people, bad things are going to happen. Nothing will stop it. Hearing about these (and similar) stories will do nothing for me but make me depressed about something I can do NOTHING about.

Since there are so many choices for "news", the outlets can tailor the stories for the audience they wish to woo for their advertisers...and they do. No real way to stop that, either.

 

[John Galt III]

Absolutely agree! Our local NPR radio station here in the Chicago area clearly has a focused political agenda and they sell it all the time. Most of the time, as you say, it's subtle. Sometimes, not so much. But it's always there. The guests they have on, the subjects of discussions, the words they use to describe things or situations, folks they chose to interview, all point in the same direction.

+1. NPR, the condescending Ivory Tower Cocoon where everyone has the same entitled trust fund baby accent, lol, and the guests all answer each question with 'So,....'. I find them annoying but I must give them an A rating for their coverage of the 2008-2009 economic debacle. I was very impressed with their accurate and in-depth and relevant coverage and explanations, even predicting it before it happened.

 

[audreyh1]

My sister found this and passed it along, right or wrong.

Guess there might be a few top center I could try out. I’ve never sought out AP or Reuters directly, but I see them used as sources all the time.

When I research a specific story, I often run into the Reuters and AP versions and read those. That’s a good example of how the broadcast news will change things, because they “summarize” these stories into sound bites with their favorite spins and speculations.

 

[audreyh1]

I think there is a correlation between how much people care and their frustration level with the news.

I find the less I care, the less the news--what little I see anymore--bothers me.
Never had much of an empathy gene in the first place but I find my blood pressure is a lot better by not taking any of it too seriously.

Personally I think there is manipulation by the broadcast media to make you think that you “should care” about every little bit they bombard you with. Just like the commercials do. It’s not a lack of empathy gene - it’s a matter of perspective. Of course you have to step back and decide what is really important.