Posted on 07/17/2013 3:36:39 AM PDT by markomalley
“so much of Media is poisonous.”
Very well put.
I used to think that the world hadn’t changed that much to have there be a “New Normal” like this but it’s looking like the world has indeed changed but it’s nowhere near normal.
Telling it just like it is.
“...I felt like I was being played.”
The very reason I stopped watching all the news services - the reason why I do not read the newspapers or visit their sites - but because i do my own research and follow other sources of information and confirm those sources - I am more informed than the average citizen who DEPENDS on the news o tell them what is going on...sure it take effort - but I was done with being used and thought of as a mindless freak...and every US news service thinks that of its viewers!
Good thread....I have came to these same conceptsor conclusions...Look forward to reading the posts.
Its actually easy to do if people raise smart thinking kids.
I was cleaning a closet which was lined with newspaper from 1955. There were rapes, murders, car chases; it read like today’s newspaper. I realized that only the names change. Unless I’m related to a victim or perpetrator, this information means nothing. It’s just a tally of what happened yesterday in a city of 8 million. It isn’t even an accurate tally, having been cherry picked for gruesome Technicolor details. I stopped reading the news, as it was all the same.
During the OJ trial I threw away the TV.
I get my news from Free Republic. I glance down the headlines and it contains more bandwidth than any 10 newspapers. Mostly, I read the comments, as they have rendered the articles into consumable bites. I find I am better informed than almost anyone I speak to, especially of the liberal persuasion.
Lastly, if something is important; say, did Allan West vote for such and such, then, I hit the search engines and try to establish if he did or didn’t as I’d like to support him.
When people ask questions like; “I wonder what percentage of blacks are killed by blacks?” I find a link quoting statistics and post it for them. That’s my contribution. (93%)
Ya gotta love GK!
About three years ago, I came to the conclusion that Paul Harvey’s simple ten minute round-up....was all that I ever needed in life. Sadly, Paul had passed on. And there isn’t anyone who can get to the simplicity of a story and give you just enough details to make sense.
I would agree....local news has gotten bad....with at least five minutes of local news really devoted to national news....which I don’t care to waste my time on. The newspapers? They are mostly unable to tell a complete story anymore. News isn’t entertainment.....and I think this really needs to be said on a regular basis.
Good piece. I got confused at the end with the red type. Are those your comments, Mark?
I use BBC. XM satellite radio channel 118. Our local npr carries BBC for a couple hours in the morning and again at 9 in the evening.
A seminal work on television new is Neil Postman’s “Amusing Ourselves to Death.”
bump for later
The red type was in the original. I think that was his fisking of the Ahlquest quotes.
I remember going cold turkey on news, that was until 9/11.
Then I became engrossed, to HELP MY COUNTRY.
I am at the point where I realize it doesn’t matter what I do, they will do what they do. This past election showed me that more than ever.
I am reaching the tuning out thing again. Not because I don’t care, but because it doesn’t seem to matter.
Thanks.
Great article and just what I needed today.
Bookmark
Msgr. Pope asks for suggestions for good alternative news sources. I look forward to hearing what people have to share as I’m always on the look-out for alternatives. This article has inspired me and I am determined to purge myself of all media that does nothing more than steal my joy and darken my outlook on life.
I have never relied on TV news for anything. Sometimes, in the case ofa dramatic or enormous event (such as 9/11) that is hard to comprehend unless you see it, TV can be useful. But certainly not for anything not inherently visual, and most definitely not for commentary and explanation: the “commentators” who appear onTV are people with no expertise or background, whose only qualification is to have moderately intelligible voices and good hair and teeth.
I read the Wall Street Journal for basic news and I also read my local paper to find out what the city council is doing, etc., since these are things that affect me. However, if I’m curious about a particular issue, I try to get more information on it from a variety of sources and I don’t rely only on one source.
I skim FR but it has its ups and downs. Once the news sources prohibited posting, we ended up with huge numbers of people’s opinion blogs being “posted” as news sources, which they certainly are not.
In addition, FR goes through spells where people get an obsession and seem to be unable to discuss anything without steering it off topic so it goes back to their obsession: at the moment, it’s immigration, but there was a time when it was hatred of GWB, hatred of some other GOP candidate or politician, etc. And the quality of their commentary is not very high, shall we say. It’s spittle-flecked name calling, in most cases. I find it disturbing and depressing and it surely doesn’t contribute to one’s understanding.
This is in addition to the fact that many posters never read the actual article, but are just flying off the handle based on their misunderstanding of the headline...
I feel the same way about most talk radio, particularly Rush Limbaugh, who spends an enormous amount of time just bloviating and sometimes really isn’t very informed on the most recent developments on an issue.
On the other hand, reading Mark Steyn or certain other commentators can be very helpful to one’s understanding, so I guess it’s just a matter of being selective.
In short, I don’t think there’s any easy solution. One has to be aware of what’s going on, and both for self-defense and in order to be a responsible citizen and Christian member of society. But maybe the best solution is to limit the general information to a couple of sources and then carefully find out more if a particular issue is personally important.
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