Has Anyone STOPPED Watching/Reading the News?

[frayne]

We do also. Watch it just about every night. Almost my entire adult life. I am a news junkie also and like to be well informed about what's going on both locally and around the world. Does the news seem any worse now than 10, 20, 30 years ago? Nope. Historically it's all about the same. I remember how depressing the Vietnam war news was each night, then watergate, Oklahoma City bombing Etc Etc. Things are no worse now. Those that think so really have short memories. I also don't get bothered by it. It's a cruel world out there. Always has been since the beginning of mankind. You have to accept that. The key is to not be where the bad things happen if you can help it. Be thankful if you can. Live in the positive. Don't be negative and don't listen to those who are, especially those lowlife media hacks who get paid to amplify what they want you to believe is so so bad.


Ps. Fortunately the news does surprise you quite often with a nice story about a Good Samaritan or heartfelt story about human kindness and just one of those per week wipes out all the bad news for me.

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Agree 100% and one has to realize much of the 24/7 news out there really isn't news per se, just something to fill the airwaves and attract ad revenue. There is actually more editorializing commentary these days trying to tell you how you should think and perceive the news and it is driven by the organization's political biases.

 

[aida2003]

I get enough exposure from the pics on the front page of MSN. I skimmed headlines and if it catches my attention I'll open to read/watch it. Otherwise I stay away. I don't want to overheat my brain.
However, I like business related stuff and I've read BusinessWeek dutifully for quite a few years.

As I check out forums and SA, I'm sure I catch all the BS I need and don't need to know thanks to information provided by other people. That's the power of Internet...people locating info for me

 

[Music Lover]

I watch the local news for a few minutes each day just to see what's happening...it rarely exceeds 5-10 minutes.

Last week, I was at a friend's helping him with a reno project and he had CNN on the whole time. After a half hour I wanted to drive my head into the wall...I've never seen such blatant bias and selective outrage.

 

[Timeout]

Use to watch a lot more tv news than I do now. My information addiction has gotten worse though because of the internet. There is an endless supply of information out there just a click or two away. So much of it though is just click bait and not useful at all. I tell myself from time to time that I should unplug and ignore it but the fact of the matter is that I need to use the internet to accomplish certain day to day things and I get sucked in.

 

[harley]

I'm in Salisbury NC for the weekend, about an hour north of Charlotte. My cousin had the news on tonight, and it's all about the protests. All. Nothing else. I know it's important, but they never said anything new after the first 3 minutes. The rest was repetition, fluff, and a couple minutes of high school football. They could have done the entire program in a standard commercial break.

 

[jollystomper]

I have gotten very cynical about the news. It seems to me that, even with 24 hour news programs, less news is reported than before. There seems to be so much REPETITION about stories where no new info is being added but lots of pure speculation. In addition, money and ratings seem much more the driving factor so it seems less about "what is really important news" versus "what will catch peoples eye/ears/link clicks".

It also seems that they have contributed to making real debate a lost art. It used to be both sides would post their facts and logic, highlight their disagreements, and at the end shake hands and still be friends or at least cordial. But the news cycle just seems to promote the "if you think this way you are an idiot, end of story", "no, if you think that way, you are an idiot, end of story" and it never goes beyond that. Reality TV shows have shown that conflict seems to draw more viewers than cooperation, and that seems to have leaked into the news as well.

 

[Midpack]

Seems about right. Too many people I know speak in sound bites (highly partisan if the topic is politics), with little if any underlying knowledge/wisdom...

 

[LitGal]

Seems about right. Too many people I know speak in sound bites (highly partisan if the topic is politics), with little if any underlying knowledge/wisdom...

+1

 

[HFWR]

I watch enough to know what's going on, to a degree, in that I know the significance of, say, Aleppo, but haven't the foggiest who Taylor Swift is dating...

I used to watch the Sunday talk shows, Washington Week, Firing Line, etc., because the discussions were generally civil. Nowadays, talking heads just yell back and forth, spewing nonsense that whiffs of horse dookie, and is therefore useless to me. I'll listen to analysis; won't listen to spew...

Still watch PBS stuff like Nova or Frontline, and sometimes the Newshour. Also have that marvel of the internets, the search engine, to fact check stuff that sets off the BS meter, such as much of what passes for news/information on social media. Though I often just assume it's BS, to save time.

 

[pb4uski]

On a bit of a tangent... do any of you watch the political shows (Meet the Press, Face the Nation, Washington Week)?

I usually tape Washington Week and Face the Nation and often catch part of Meet the Press. But admittedly, it is sometimes "blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah".

 

[Al in Ohio]

On a bit of a tangent... do any of you watch the political shows (Meet the Press, Face the Nation, Washington Week)?

I usually tape Washington Week and Face the Nation and often catch part of Meet the Press. But admittedly, it is sometimes "blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah".

Yes I do when I remember they are on. They don't make my DVR list, but when I catch them, I usually take the time to watch. IMO higher tier quality news, but yes less sensationalized so can get monotonous.


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[unclemick]

One of the great tragedy's of Katrina is my loss of 'Vote For The Crook' bumber sticker.

A true classic.

heh heh heh - Does anyone wonder what an original Bogle's Folly poster might be worth today?

 

[harley]

heh heh heh - Does anyone wonder what an original Bogle's Folly poster might be worth today?

I thought you could find anything on eBay, but I guess not.

 

[audreyh1]

Why would you think watching any TV news makes you well informed?

Especially if you admit that it's all geared to getting you to watch the commercials. And so many admit TV news is dumbed down infotainment and usually way off the mark in terms of accurate information.

Seems to me a more active role of sifting through Internet and print sources would be required to be truly well informed.

 

[Dcharles]

I still watch the news but less every week.


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[Al in Ohio]

Conspiracy theorists believe the news is dumbed down.or slanted Those of us who are "well informed" and prefer to stay on top of things do not subscribe to such nonsense. Yes there are commercials and the occasional stories about something you care less about, but that's what a DVR and a 30 second commercial skip button are for.


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[keegs]

I rarely watch the news, we don't have a TV right now. I oftentimes listen to the local NPR station and read the papers and some periodicals online. News for profit most certainly has issues.

 

[juliadream]

really the news lately repeat one and the same things and they have grown very pressing and even aggressive. I only have 2 channels and I don't care to watch them anyway, there's so much more to life than that i can only take a peek at some news online if it happens to catch my eye somehow

 

[bclover]

Lead story...Kim Kardashian got robbed. Wraps up the quality of news nicely

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[sengsational]

Seems about right. Too many people I know speak in sound bites (highly partisan if the topic is politics), with little if any underlying knowledge/wisdom...

Yeah, it seems most people get their "news" from the spin that the opposition posts. The spin is more entertaining than the reality, so that's what gets shared.

I rarely comment when someone has something to say on the political side, but the other day, when someone commented on a list of candidates for political office, it sounded to me like fiction, all-around. I asked where that information came from, and learned it was from Facebook "meme's" and video clips.

 

[harley]

Lead story...Kim Kardashian got robbed. Wraps up the quality of news nicely

DW was flipping through the channels last night and stopped to listen to this story for a minute. The breathless and incredibly dramatic delivery by the female talking head was so over the top we both broke out laughing. I had to check and make sure we weren't watching The Onion or SNL.

 

[Dcharles]

Seems the national news comes from one source and it is slanted and political. I don't trust the national media to tell us the truth.


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[Midpack]

Does (the current state of) news emulate the electorate or vice versa?

The lack of balance is very discouraging. There are way more biased-partisan-opinion news outlets these days than sources who even pretend to offer a balanced view from both sides of any given discussion. The major networks aren't even balanced these days, they're just more subtle with their biases, often using omission to present their bias.

And if you read the views of most individuals, they're biases are even more blatant, often parroting sound bites from their chosen biased "news" sources (with little if any underlying understanding). Why think for yourself when others will do it for you [/sarcasm]. They'll offer evidence in support of their position, while consciously omitting any counter positions. No where is this more obvious than the current Presidential race. We see articles showing all the lies a candidate has told, without acknowledging the lies the other candidate has told.

Sad state of affairs, but which came first?

I deliberately watch/listen to partisans from BOTH sides, not one or the other, and then draw my own conclusions. It's the only way to consume news these days IMHO...

 

[ERD50]

Conspiracy theorists believe the news is dumbed down.or slanted Those of us who are "well informed" and prefer to stay on top of things do not subscribe to such nonsense. ...

Wow. So anyone who has a different viewpoint from a self-proclaimed "well informed" person like yourself must be a 'conspiracy theorist' who subscribes to 'nonsense'? Or were you being sarcastic, and I missed it? Do you really think the news is not dumbed down and/or slanted?

I'm much more in alignment with the view that Midpack expressed here:

...

The lack of balance is very discouraging. There are way more biased-partisan-opinion news outlets these days than sources who even pretend to offer a balanced view from both sides of any given discussion. The major networks aren't even balanced these days, they're just more subtle with their biases, often using omission to present their bias.

...

I deliberately watch/listen to partisans from BOTH sides, not one or the other, and then draw my own conclusions. It's the only way to consume news these days IMHO...

And I feel the subtle bias is the most dangerous - people may not realize they are being manipulated. Without getting too far into this and turning into a current political debate (which will get the thread shut down), I will note that we seem to live in a 'sound bite' world. Many of the sound bites out there today are snippets w/o context. They seem to say something, but they often say the opposite when you fill in the context. But the context takes 2 or 3 sentences, maybe a bit of background explanation, and maybe a little critical thinking. That get's drowned out by the snappy sound bite. Sad.

To the last part of the Midpack quote above, when I hear a news item from either side that I think is worth knowing about, I will dig a little deeper and look for the source material. Most of the time, I find the source was taken out of context and the presentation was slanted (both 'sides' do it). But how many people have the time and/or inclination to do that research (which is pretty easy these days, thanks to the Internet)? Probably not the vast majority of voters.

-ERD50

 

[HFWR]

The sad fact is that many think the mainstream media is "biased", so they start getting their "news" from alt sources, which don't even try to hide their bias...