Anyone else NOT watch the news?

[mystang52]

I promise to not get political, and will be intentionally non-specific. I used to be somewhat of a news hound, being knowledgeable of most current affairs. Maybe it's my age, but for quite a while I would get internally worked up if I watch or read the news, in depth. So, for all intents and purposes I stopped doing so.
I do get a daily email feed with basically just headlines, and if I really want to get more info I can then do more research; I rarely do so, however. And as a lifelong insomniac, I never check the news in the evening. I sure don't need another thing that might keep me awake. Maybe it's a variation of blissful ignorance, but I am happier. Am I alone?

 

[Jerry1]

I watch it a lot less now. I got rid of cable, so that helped a lot - not having easy access to the worst of the talking heads helps a lot. Now I mainly just watch local news and the most important part for me is the weather.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

I regularly check my local TV station's website for local news (would do the local paper but it's pay-walled) and check the BBC a few times a week to see what's happening in the world. Occasionally will listen to morning talk radio before the overtly political tripe comes on just to have some situational awareness. When traveling I'll sometimes turn on the local morning shows for some local awareness but usually leave the hotel TV off.

In general I try to avoid stuff that "pumped" to me and would rather seek out information/news.

 

[Sunset]

I would find it hard to avoid.. the news is everywhere.

I do realize not many things are earth shattering (except asteroids ). So while every weekend there is many shootings in Chicago and ~5 killed and ~30 wounded, it's like the sun rising, happens every day and life goes on.

I notice here, they exaggerate the weather, to get folks to pay attention. I do pay attention when the Tornado sirens go off

The insanity of events is incredible, Russia invades Ukraine to save it from Nazi's and is leaving it a wasteland. What will Russia hope to conquer in the end but a totally devastated country ?

 

[Car-Guy]

I watch (edit) XYZ but still filter out and/or read between the lines on 70+% of their content. Refuse to watch others.

 

[Aerides]

I would find it hard to avoid.. the news is everywhere.

Not in my house. Or my car, or anywhere I frequent that I cannot easily avoid. I do listen to some news when I want to, usually a non-partisan source if possible.

But no I absolutely do not ever "watch the news" - with the exception of perhaps a clip when there's a hurricane approaching.

 

[euro]

I totally understand the sentiment of those who choose to ignore the news but I think on the whole, it makes people ignorant (oblivious?) of what goes on in the world and that cannot be a good thing for many reasons.
Not sure how to fix the problem - personally, I tend to stick to getting my news from a collection of newspapers and almost completely ignore broadcast or social media news. Not perfect either though, I will admit.

 

[dingo]

I don’t watch any national news. I catch the local news on occasion if it just happens to be convenient.

 

[CaptTom]

...But no I absolutely do not ever "watch the news" - with the exception of perhaps a clip when there's a hurricane approaching.

Good plan. I have a few neutral news aggregator web sites I check out. From there I can see what the biased outlets on both sides are saying.

To those who watch specific news outlets, I can assure you that those are almost certainly biased. I can say that confidently because, if you have only one or only a few sources, you are self-selecting for the biases you want to hear, and excluding the rest.

I'll stop there. It's hopeless anyway. The ones who need to hear this the most, won't. They're being told by their puppet masters that it's disloyal to listen to anyone else. And believing it.

 

[Sunset]

I totally understand the sentiment of those who choose to ignore the news but I think on the whole, it makes people ignorant (oblivious?) of what goes on in the world and that cannot be a good thing for many reasons.
Not sure how to fix the problem - personally, I tend to stick to getting my news from a collection of newspapers and almost completely ignore broadcast or social media news. Not perfect either though, I will admit.

While I come from a family of news watchers.. I really thinking about 95% of news has zero effect on my life.
The remaining 5% might have some effect but I can't do much about it.

The one big exception is if I travel, then I want to know the news for that area in detail. So I can have a better/safer trip.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I can’t imagine not watching and/or reading the news and being ignorant of what is happening. I watch a variety of stations to get a more balanced view. However, I don’t overload either because that’s unhealthy. Personally I feel that if you don’t either read or watch the news there’s no way you can be an educated voter.

 

[ERD50]

I'm pretty much in the same boat as OP.

A few years back, I really dug into some topics, and when I could find the actual, unedited source information, I found it was worse than I thought. Not just laziness or ineptitude, there seemed to be a purpose to their outright lies of what happened (clicks or conspiracy, I don't know). And then the lie gets repeated so many times w/o a challenge it becomes accepted as truth by many.

I totally understand the sentiment of those who choose to ignore the news but I think on the whole, it makes people ignorant (oblivious?) of what goes on in the world and that cannot be a good thing for many reasons. ...

As has been said, "You can ignore the news and be uninformed, or follow the news and be misinformed." I believe that to be a sad truth.

-ERD50

 

[euro]

I can’t imagine not watching and/or reading the news and being ignorant of what is happening. I watch a variety of stations to get a more balanced view. However, I don’t overload either because that’s unhealthy. Personally I feel that if you don’t either read or watch the news there’s no way you can be an educated voter.

+1

 

[MichaelB]

<mod note> An interesting topic. Not getting into details about specific news outlets or events will add to the longevity of the discussion.

 

[Beststash]

I watch a lot of news, either online or mostly streaming. I used to laugh at this quote by Edgar Allen Poe but I think it is spot on these days....

“You are young yet, my friend, but the time will arrive when you will learn to judge for yourself of what is going on in the world, without trusting to the gossip of others. Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see."

 

[Healthy Lifestyle]

Interested in only the weather report not all the depressing news stuff.
However, I only need to hear a short version of the weather report not a repeated prologue.

 

[Dtail]

We watch some local news and some partisan specific news. It is probably no more or less than when we first retired, even though we are a little busier overall.

 

[Golden Mean]

Have never watched the news.

When I lived at home and was subjected to it, I noticed:

1) If I was knowledgeable about a subject, I could tell they were getting it wrong or at the very least missing all of the nuance.
2) It's entertainment, not information.
3) It's just emotional manipulation. "Here, worry about this thing (that has zero impact on your daily life) we've decided for you, is important.

If I want info on an event (MH370 for example) I go to wikipedia and/or forums with people educated on the subject.

 

[ERD50]

I can’t imagine not watching and/or reading the news and being ignorant of what is happening. I watch a variety of stations to get a more balanced view. However, I don’t overload either because that’s unhealthy. Personally I feel that if you don’t either read or watch the news there’s no way you can be an educated voter.

Unfortunately, I haven't found that it helps much to "watch a variety of stations to get a more balanced view." IME, it's almost all the same stuff repeated, or misrepresentation on both sides.

The only thing that works for me, as I mentioned earlier, is to dig in and find the unedited source information. That's not always available, and it takes a lot of work, and 99.9% of the population goes with what they heard on the "news". So I've mostly just given up, and focus on my own life, friends and family (and my blood pressure!).

I see the mods want to avoid examples, so this is tough to discuss meaningfully. I have a recent one I am following that is not political, and really points out how bad (and actually dangerous) the news media is.

-ERD50

 

[LateToFIRE]

I don't ignore the news, but I don't watch TV news. I find TV news is very politically skewed (either direction) and an incredibly inefficient way to get info, unless there is something big and late-breaking going on like a natural disaster, terrorist attack, etc. I try to read multiple sources in hopes of extrapolating the unbiased truth, which is hard to come by these days.

 

[Ian S]

I can't imagine not being clued in, at least somewhat, to local, national and world events. Yes, we are manipulated but that will only get worse with developments like AI. I would think that those with kids and grand-kids might be interested in what's going to affect their lives at least. YMMV, of course.

 

[Gremlin]

As has been said, "You can ignore the news and be uninformed, or follow the news and be misinformed." I believe that to be a sad truth.

-ERD50

My sentiments exactly

 

[Qs Laptop]

I do not watch TV news. I don't watch local TV news or national cable or national network news.

I have checked out the local TV news of places I'm considering relocating to.

When there is something huge that is breaking news, I will go on TV and check it out on the cable channels. A recent example would be the Iran attack on Israel.

Otherwise, I get my news from a curated online news feed of my own making, and Twitter.

But TV news? No way.

 

[ERD50]

I can't imagine not being clued in, at least somewhat, to local, national and world events. Yes, we are manipulated but that will only get worse with developments like AI. I would think that those with kids and grand-kids might be interested in what's going to affect their lives at least. YMMV, of course.

It's not that I don't want to be informed, or am not interested. It's just that it's near impossible to be informed.

I'm not worried about AI. I worry less about the source of info than I do the accuracy of the info. In either case, I find I need to validate it myself. That doesn't change with AI, it's just another 'source' (or a reflection of the bad sources out there now?).

-ERD50

 

[Qs Laptop]

The only thing that works for me, as I mentioned earlier, is to dig in and find the unedited source information. That's not always available, and it takes a lot of work, and 99.9% of the population goes with what they heard on the "news".
-ERD50

Years ago, when I was more politically active I found something very interesting. I would watch CSPAN for the raw footage of press conferences, congressional committee meetings, floor speeches, and various other government functions. CSPAN would put a camera in the room and let it roll. Then I would watch the national evening news on TV and/or the cable news channels coverage of the very same thing I just witnessed, untampered, with my own eyes.

The amount of spin put on something, the amount of selective editing, the amount of rearranging of timelines to suit the view the particular news outlet was advancing was astounding. I mean sometimes the EXACT OPPOSITE of what occurred was portrayed.

Truly, an eye-opening experience for me. Sometime in the mid 90's is when I quit watching TV news.

As you say, it's just too much work to get at the actual news.