Posted on 09/14/2007 11:36:55 AM PDT by JZelle
Americans may watch an average of 12 to 17 hours of television a week, but they continue to hate what they see.
When asked which of the new fall programs they were looking forward to viewing, a whopping 86 percent said they were anticipating "nothing," were unsure of the lineup or dismissed the new offerings altogether, according to a poll released yesterday by the Associated Press and AOL.
Viewers see a dim future. Almost two-thirds 62 percent say TV programming in general is "getting worse." Among evangelical Christians, the number was 85 percent, the survey found.
There are too many reality TV shows on the air; the genre was cited by 71 percent of the respondents as being too abundant. Crime and talk shows followed, each cited by 49 percent, and game shows, cited by a third. Least offensive, was news, sports and dramatic programming found in appropriate amounts by the majority of respondents.
News, in fact, showed some promise. The findings revealed that 28 percent of Americans would like to see more news on television, compared with 17 percent in a similar survey taken two years ago.
"This is all very telling about the complicated relationships people have with their television. We have so much to chose from right now some good, some bad. But most Americans tend to fall back into the idea that TV will forever be the 'idiot box' and the 'boob tube,'" said Robert Thompson, a Syracuse University broadcast professor and director of the school's Bleier Center for Study of TV and Popular Culture.
"There's a divide between our opinions and our behavior here. Americans check off all the boxes on a survey saying TV stinks with one hand, but they've got the other hand on that TV remote, believe me.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
What do we watch? Sports, Fox News, Raymond, 24, Netflix.
What genius decided to air the Patriot-Chargers game opposite Red Sox-Yankees?
A Miami Fan?
CNN: Crescent News Network
NBC: Nothing But Crap
CBS: Certified Bull Sh-t
ABC: American Born Commies
PBS: Pure Bull sh-t
MTV: Moronic Teenage Vitriole
BET: Booty Ebonics Training
Junk! All of it!
I beg to differ: BBC America: MI-5 and Footballers Wives, Sci-Fi Channel: Doctor Who, Disney: Suite-life Of Zack and Cody, Hannah Montana./Just Asking - seoul62.......
With Burn Notice just ending, I find myself only really looking forward to House and Battlestar Galactica.
Oh NO! This means ABC NBC etc. will translate this to mean they need even more of that hollywierdo crap they call "news".
Me?
Out in the country so there’s no cable. People ask why I don’t have satellite TV. The comments on this thread pretty well answer that.
So I’m stuck with broadcast TV (ABC/CBS/FOX/PBS/NBC).
I like/watch: Criminal Minds, CSI, L&O, 24, Boston Legal (Denny Crane is a hoot :), History Detectives, Mystery (sometimes) and Shark.
IMHO, the “reality” shows, which are anything but, are utterly stupid and a waste of time. But they are super dirt cheap to produce and the masses suck ‘em up. TV has always programmed to the lowest common denominator. The reality shows are a fine example of that.
For the new season, I haven’t seen much in the previews that really grabs me.
Why don’t people just turn the TV off???
People would be amazed to find out that there is actually stuff to do out there in that big wide world besides stare at th TV.
I used to watch mostly History channel and news, but the History channel has reverted to endless hours of karate and space alien crap. Fox is tabloid sensationalism, so I watch CNN occasionally. Other than that, it’s better just to rent movies and get the news from the net.
I like Heroes... is that wrong?
Golly gee, Gomer, if you quit watching the swill they offer, maybe they would offer up something you DO like!
My favorite is “The Office” and I got totally hooked on “Friday Night Lights.” Can’t forget “CSI: Miami” and “Desperate Housewives.”
What a novel concept! News, instead of moonbat droppings.
When I moved a year ago, I didn’t have cable TV hooked up.
Don’t miss it.
We do watch more movies now, with no commercials and content we actually want to see. ...and have a lot more free time to boot.
some of the discovery high-def stuff is pretty cool, but not essential.
NCAA men's basketball
Old, old movies (If it's after 1960, it's suspect)
News
Among the biggest waste of airtime - any popular "music", Title IX women's basketball and the WNBA, dime-a-dozen boring gutter comedies, realty trash, inside celebrity life story trash and the Chris Mathews hour or MSNBC. Olbermann at least has a little perverse entertainment value but watching Chris is like watching a stopped up toilet bowl overflowing in slow motion.
I honestly think there was more on TV worth watching when we had six channels back in the 60s and 70’s. The only thing positive about todays TV is the clarity is supreme over the rabbit ears or chimney mounted TV antennas of yesteryear.
Mmm, yes, particularly when Cat Cora is on!
Although I do find the idiot with the spiky hair too irritating to watch.
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