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

[ER Eddie]

In addition to being able to think and converse about these subjects, another benefit (for me) of paying attention to politics/current events is that I might want to become politically active in my community. As we know, lots of people get more involved in politics as they get older, in part because of free time, and also because they want to feel like they are making a difference. If I go that route, I want to be informed.

 

[indiajust]

In 1975 I was 11 and I was the "remote" like many kids. As I twisted the knob through the MSM dreck for my dad I realized his news had the same topics, order, and in some cases the same words. I discovered propaganda. I abandoned TV news for life. As my parents aged, they increased their exposure to propaganda, further disconnecting them from reality, and emotionally manipulating them with an endless parade of awfulness.


I use various online news feeds and avoid video as I despise being shouted at and told what to think. Be thoughtful, not reactive. Never watch breaking news. Ever. Make sure to salt your feed with plenty of thoughtful and intelligent and positive sources. Negative MSM dreck feeds advertisers, not souls.


You are fighting an ingrained addictive behavior. Know your enemy. Cut back on data junk and upsize for quality. Discard high volume cheap swill and embrace low volume high gravity beer.

 

[LARS]

Discard high volume cheap swill and embrace low volume high gravity beer.

Sound advice, which can be applied to most aspects of life with practice...

 

[Oz investor]

ER Eddie,

informed on important issues , YES

befuddled and distracted .. no thank you ( i could use that time thinking )

 

[Bart523]

tired of 24 hour news shows

I used to watch the news every morning for a couple of hours but have given that up. There is about 3 minutes of news and 57 minutes of commentary by a variety of talking heads that rehash everything over and over. It's contentious and tends to be stressful for me so I have left it behind.

I read from a news aggregator online and get the most important headlines of the day for about a half hour.

 

[Markola]

.....Of course Mexican TV is all in Spanish about Mexican politics which we ignore.

BTW we have made out pretty well by ignoring politics and government. Since we have zero influence and find it upsetting, why would we spend any of our precious remaining time on it.

This inspires the most intriguing idea I’ve read yet on this string: Between elections, pretend I am traveling in a country whose boring politics make no sense to me, nor do I want them to, because I don’t care enough to learn about the local problems I can’t do anything about and just hope my tourist dollars do more good than harm. Rather, I’m visiting for vacation, so I actively avoid newspapers and laugh to myself at the poor Americans back home still having to be confronted daily with the newest insane vomit. Meanwhile, I wake up every day to see and do new things and eat and drink well and enjoy a mental health break from the incompetent daily lunatic antics of my pretend government back home. LOL! That means I’m on vacation until I can help vote against them - again! Haha.

 

[audreyh1]

For those who worry about a mass movement of folks tuning out news media and becoming uninformed citizens and voters:

Well guess what - the masses of uninformed voters happened long ago. Folks who sit in front of the boob tube every night consuming what passes for news, not only are getting little relevant factual information, but come election time they are bombarded by endless political ads, in addition to whatever are the sound bites and scandals du jour. All this is targeting emotional knee jerk reactions, which I believe is what motivates how many vote. Oh yeah, and social media really got into the mix this last time and is here to stay.

So not only is avoiding broadcast news helping my quality of life by eliminating the reach of a huge manipulative commercial empire - news AND commercials, but I am also not exposed to political ads in video and audio form. I see some billboards and street signs is all.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

For those who worry about a mass movement of folks tuning out news media and becoming uninformed citizens and voters:

Well guess what - the masses of uninformed voters happened long ago. Folks who sit in front of the boob tube every night consuming what passes for news, not only are getting little relevant factual information, but come election time they are bombarded by endless political ads, in addition to whatever are the sound bites and scandals du jour. All this is targeting emotional knee jerk reactions, which I believe is what motivates how many vote. Oh yeah, and social media really got into the mix this last time and is here to stay.

So not only is avoiding broadcast news helping my quality of life by eliminating the reach of a huge manipulative commercial empire - news AND commercials, but I am also not exposed to political ads in video and audio form. I see some billboards and street signs is all.

Spot on.

 

[Crabby Mike]

I don't actively avoid the news of the day, but I can honestly say I virtually NEVER watch it on TV. For the life of me, in this day and age, when most of the world's information is available on the internet, I don't get why anyone lets others choose what stories they get to see, and then has the patience to let those people read them the chosen stories. I consume information (news, opinions, whatever) by the bucket every day online, but the beauty is that I can skim, read only what I find interesting, then move on to the next story once I'm bored. I (like probably everyone else here) apply the same selectivity to reading a forum like this one. Can you imagine having someone else choose which posts/threads you should see, and then read them to you? Not to mention that all of the cable news outlets (at least what I see of them when trapped in doctors' waiting rooms, etc.) simply repeat the same stories over and over all day long.


Not that I don't watch TV mind you, I just prefer mindless drivel of the non-news variety ...

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

To me, television news becomes especially intolerable in election years, when the advertising switches from funeral homes to hatchet-job political ads. One after another. Local news is the worst.

 

[marko]

For the life of me, in this day and age, when most of the world's information is available on the internet, I don't get why anyone lets others choose what stories they get to see, and then has the patience to let those people read them the chosen stories. .

IIRC, when the internet first started coming into people's homes, Cokie Roberts (wonder how she got that name!) lamented (paraphrasing here) "With all of the information now out in the open, how are we going to control what people see and know?"

 

[audreyh1]

For the life of me, in this day and age, when most of the world's information is available on the internet, I don't get why anyone lets others choose what stories they get to see, and then has the patience to let those people read them the chosen stories. I consume information (news, opinions, whatever) by the bucket every day online, but the beauty is that I can skim, read only what I find interesting, then move on to the next story once I'm bored. I (like probably everyone else here) apply the same selectivity to reading a forum like this one. Can you imagine having someone else choose which posts/threads you should see, and then read them to you? Not to mention that all of the cable news outlets (at least what I see of them when trapped in doctors' waiting rooms, etc.) simply repeat the same stories over and over all day long.

Exactly!

 

[audreyh1]

IIRC, when the internet first started coming into people's homes, Cokie Roberts (wonder how she got that name!) lamented (paraphrasing here) "With all of the information now out in the open, how are we going to control what people see and know?"

Yep - LOL!

I actually can’t believe she said that!

 

[Crabby Mike]

IIRC, when the internet first started coming into people's homes, Cokie Roberts (wonder how she got that name!) lamented (paraphrasing here) "With all of the information now out in the open, how are we going to control what people see and know?"

She got the nickname from her brother as a child. And I can't help but wonder if she really said that ...

 

[ERD50]

IIRC, when the internet first started coming into people's homes, Cokie Roberts (wonder how she got that name!) lamented (paraphrasing here) "With all of the information now out in the open, how are we going to control what people see and know?"

Yep - LOL!

I actually can’t believe she said that!

Unfortunately, I can believe she said that (and means it)!

But I would appreciate a source, I tried googling, but she has said so much it's hard to get specific like that.

-ERD50

 

[Rianne]

You’re not alone. I was also an active consumer of news, but I’m down to the PBS Newshour and the 5:30p NBC Nightly News. If I want more info on anything I hear there, I go online to delve further for supporting facts.

I no longer read or watch any of the common sources/networks anymore. I used to watch CNN and Fox News to get opposing views, but I can’t stand either of them now, and MSNBC is no better. Maybe the news will get better after 2020, but I seriously doubt it...

+1 Free to speak/free to listen, we can choose. There are societies that don't have those freedoms. I cherish NPR and PBS. I appreciate the way they deliver information, news, sports and life stories. No one can make me listen to anything else. Don't upset my apple cart with useless noise. Thank you.

 

[VanWinkle]

Is PBS really non-biased in there reporting? Never listened to them but may start if they actually report the news only without leaning one direction or the other.

 

[samclem]

Is PBS really non-biased in there reporting? Never listened to them but may start if they actually report the news only without leaning one direction or the other.

In my opinion, both PBS and NPR lean left, and it is a considerable "lean." But (also in my opinion), they both have a depth of coverage that is unmatched in TV/radio broadcast journalism. You just won't find a six minute piece on one news item on other broadcast sources. I find value in that, and take the reporting for what it is worth.

 

[VanWinkle]

In my opinion, both PBS and NPR lean left, and it is a considerable "lean." But (also in my opinion), they both have a depth of coverage that is unmatched in TV/radio broadcast journalism. You just won't find a six minute piece on one news item on other broadcast sources. I find value in that, and take the reporting for what it is worth.

Thanks for the report samclem!!

 

[flintnational]

In my opinion, both PBS and NPR lean left, and it is a considerable "lean." But (also in my opinion), they both have a depth of coverage that is unmatched in TV/radio broadcast journalism. You just won't find a six minute piece on one news item on other broadcast sources. I find value in that, and take the reporting for what it is worth.

+1 Well stated.

 

[Marita40]

As to network news, I'm quite sure they pump David Muir full of coffee IVs so that he can say "Breaking News!!" with such extreme tense energy and a furrowed brow at least several times in each broadcast...
When everything is breaking news, nothing is.
For those who don't like endless rehashing, handwringing, and spin, this will be a tough week.

 

[Redbugdave]

In my opinion, both PBS and NPR lean left, and it is a considerable "lean." But (also in my opinion), they both have a depth of coverage that is unmatched in TV/radio broadcast journalism. You just won't find a six minute piece on one news item on other broadcast sources. I find value in that, and take the reporting for what it is worth.

I also agree with this assessment of PBS and NPR. I see the evident left lean, but still like the coverage. I think other countries cover US news better than in house. UK Daily Mail is one I compare with to look at for US news.

 

[Winemaker]

Just look at their coverage of the "cave boys". There's 4 out, no, now 3. Oh wait, it'll be weeks before they're out, oh wait, there's 6 out. No, we want to correct last hour's story, there's 7, because the coach was so weak, he came out, he gave his crumbs and water to this players. No wait, only 2 left, the coach is a hero, he said he'd be the last one out. Ad nauseam.

Well, let's hear it for team unity building activities.

 

[ponyboy]

Take everything you read for a grain of salt...especially when it comes to the major news outlets. Question everything.

 

[W2R]

I admit that the rescue of the Thai boys' soccer team dragged me back to websites such as CNN and CBS, neither of which I ever visit under normal circumstances. So, I'm not as disengaged as I had thought.