OT: Shooting in Munich and media coverage

[Richard]

CNN, MSBNC and Fox are not news networks. At best they are "Infotainment." It sells soap to roil fears and hatred in America.

[malcolm]

Originally Posted by Climb01742

There simply isn't 24 hours of real, factually accurate 'news' every day for 365 days a year. Yet airtime and web pages must be filled to chase ad dollars.

What's equally damaging is, being first to rush out there with some 'breaking news' is seen as more important than being accurate. The economics and dynamics of the modern news/infotainment machine are so screwed up, yet what news organization will stand up and play it straight? A bit like doping, isn't it? Play it clean and come second, third or far lower. Versus get down in the mud and chase success by whatever means necessary.

Problem is, dirty sports don't really impact our greater life. While crap 'news' gives oxygen to all sorts of not great things and people in the world.

This is it.

News as entertainment. As climb says there just isn't enough real news to fill the time so the race to be first or have something new is completely out of control often with misinformation and retractions after the fact.

I think the continual beating of the dead horse with innumerable experts/pundits commenting profusely with minimal real info is detrimental to our society. It's no wonder people are out of their minds. The disenfranchised listening to the same pot stirring incessantly 24 hours a day it's no wonder people are shooting cops and behaving in a manner that just defies humanity.

[unterhausen]

all you need to know about CNN is that the anchor that speculated that an airplane had been swallowed by a black hole is still employed there.

Why they allow their anchors to editorialize is beyond me. I watched CNN international back when I was deployed, and it was so much better. If I wanted to hear people's ill-informed opinions about things, I certainly wouldn't watch tv, I'd go to the VFW

[CampyorBust]

Originally Posted by Gsinill

Let me check the archives...
CNN probably reported this as "Imam in the heart of a German metropole is demanding the annihilation of Christianity".

Originally Posted by makoti

You could have easily been in DC or LA.

Totally, though in this case it was a disheveled white woman with wispy graying hair. I don’t speak Doich but it did not sound pleasant, very angry. It was 8am and I was looking for some noodles, Wagamama or something….I found no noodles worth eating, so I found solace in some pastries while peeping into the window of a closed bike shop with some neetos inside.

The sad state of the media over the past 20 years is abysmal, its no longer even truthyness just outright treasonous propaganda and fear mongering. At this point it no longer tries to hide its bias and criminal agenda it just plows right through. What are we going to do about it, complain to Comcast? Ha! Tweet and like your way to justice? Ha Ha! Rage against the machine and occupy something, did ya get the memo? The revolution will not be televised! Tee hee hee. So what now? Well there was once this dood in the woods, some fella that had a dream, a bearded fatty and a wife beating racist that wrote about and used civil disobedience to great effect.

Stupid anecdotes aside, most people don’t know or care to know history, and if they do it’s a miracle if they implement what has been learned in their actions. As the saying goes those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it. So isn’t ironic that as the WWII generation embarks on the next stage of consciousness we are faced yet again with some frighteningly similar predicaments? Doncha think? Granted today we have the internet and more progressive outlooks, but when closely examined those very progressive agendas and technologies are being used against the interest of the people, moreover with the help of the very same people. The organized few have always ruled and sacrificed the somnambulant masses.

There is always alternative media for those who don’t fear rabbit holes and demonization. Blue pill/red pill which are you? Sadly I don’t see the cycle breaking anytime soon, if it aint broke... No comment on the current political nightmare, other than I am saddened that people are still buying into the status quo. There are 26 letters in the alphabet and yet we let ourtselves be cow prodded into choosing A or B every bleepin time. We almost had a C this time, till the C-onformist endorsed the B-itch who has been buddies with A-hole for decades. Still livin’ the dream eh’?

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by dave thompson

What purports to be "news" in this country can only be politely called 'entertainment/opinion'. Plus I'm of the opinion that the public are, by and large, intellectually lazy and want to be fed opinions that only agree with theirs.

Hear, hear!!

[Jgrooms]

We get the government we deserve? So the saying goes. And to the 'media's' credit, the quest for ratings $ (now clicks) shows we want entertainment. The vast majority chose 'news' outlets that reflect ones already solidified views. Its no secret that this has been the formula for Fox. Its 'news' wrapped in a package that drives ratings.
No critical thinking required!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[unterhausen]

I don't know how you can blame us, we don't make these choices. It has been a race to the bottom for over a decade. I can't remember watching any "news" channels for longer than that. So much opinion, so little news. I have to do a major cable upgrade to get Al Jazeera, dont' think I can get BBC at all. If I could watch straight news program, I would.

It's not true that they are doing well. The ratings are horrible. Maybe one of the channels will get the crazy idea of doing straight news without all the opinion and babbling

[slidey]

I heard a westerner mangle out 'allahu akbar' on NPR as well.

It just seems more, and more, that the major news networks (NPR included), are more interested in propagating as much content (not info), when there's an emergency, as opposed to maintaining restraint, and communicating what's known with complete confidence.

[cadence90]

Originally Posted by dave thompson

Perfectly said. As an old guy, I was brought up listening to Murrow, Cronkite, Schieffer and the like. They presented the facts to the stories and allowed us to draw our own conclusions. That was entertainment!

Today's "news" doesn't encourage critical thinking. Talking politics with younger people today is totally uninteresting.

No kidding.

Then:





Now:

[Hilltopperny]

Originally Posted by CampyorBust

Totally, though in this case it was a disheveled white woman with wispy graying hair. I don’t speak Doich but it did not sound pleasant, very angry. It was 8am and I was looking for some noodles, Wagamama or something….I found no noodles worth eating, so I found solace in some pastries while peeping into the window of a closed bike shop with some neetos inside.

The sad state of the media over the past 20 years is abysmal, its no longer even truthyness just outright treasonous propaganda and fear mongering. At this point it no longer tries to hide its bias and criminal agenda it just plows right through. What are we going to do about it, complain to Comcast? Ha! Tweet and like your way to justice? Ha Ha! Rage against the machine and occupy something, did ya get the memo? The revolution will not be televised! Tee hee hee. So what now? Well there was once this dood in the woods, some fella that had a dream, a bearded fatty and a wife beating racist that wrote about and used civil disobedience to great effect.

Stupid anecdotes aside, most people don’t know or care to know history, and if they do it’s a miracle if they implement what has been learned in their actions. As the saying goes those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it. So isn’t ironic that as the WWII generation embarks on the next stage of consciousness we are faced yet again with some frighteningly similar predicaments? Doncha think? Granted today we have the internet and more progressive outlooks, but when closely examined those very progressive agendas and technologies are being used against the interest of the people, moreover with the help of the very same people. The organized few have always ruled and sacrificed the somnambulant masses.

There is always alternative media for those who don’t fear rabbit holes and demonization. Blue pill/red pill which are you? Sadly I don’t see the cycle breaking anytime soon, if it aint broke... No comment on the current political nightmare, other than I am saddened that people are still buying into the status quo. There are 26 letters in the alphabet and yet we let ourtselves be cow prodded into choosing A or B every bleepin time. We almost had a C this time, till the C-onformist endorsed the B-itch who has been buddies with A-hole for decades. Still livin’ the dream eh’?

[verticaldoug]

Originally Posted by CampyorBust

Totally, though in this case it was a disheveled white woman with wispy graying hair. I don’t speak Doich but it did not sound pleasant, very angry. It was 8am and I was looking for some noodles, Wagamama or something….I found no noodles worth eating, so I found solace in some pastries while peeping into the window of a closed bike shop with some neetos inside.

The sad state of the media over the past 20 years is abysmal, its no longer even truthyness just outright treasonous propaganda and fear mongering. At this point it no longer tries to hide its bias and criminal agenda it just plows right through. What are we going to do about it, complain to Comcast? Ha! Tweet and like your way to justice? Ha Ha! Rage against the machine and occupy something, did ya get the memo? The revolution will not be televised! Tee hee hee. So what now? Well there was once this dood in the woods, some fella that had a dream, a bearded fatty and a wife beating racist that wrote about and used civil disobedience to great effect.

Stupid anecdotes aside, most people don’t know or care to know history, and if they do it’s a miracle if they implement what has been learned in their actions. As the saying goes those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it. So isn’t ironic that as the WWII generation embarks on the next stage of consciousness we are faced yet again with some frighteningly similar predicaments? Doncha think? Granted today we have the internet and more progressive outlooks, but when closely examined those very progressive agendas and technologies are being used against the interest of the people, moreover with the help of the very same people. The organized few have always ruled and sacrificed the somnambulant masses.

There is always alternative media for those who don’t fear rabbit holes and demonization. Blue pill/red pill which are you? Sadly I don’t see the cycle breaking anytime soon, if it aint broke... No comment on the current political nightmare, other than I am saddened that people are still buying into the status quo. There are 26 letters in the alphabet and yet we let ourtselves be cow prodded into choosing A or B every bleepin time. We almost had a C this time, till the C-onformist endorsed the B-itch who has been buddies with A-hole for decades. Still livin’ the dream eh’?

The DNC wikileaks database is interesting to browse.

Of course, the media focuses on the DNC working to undermine the Sander's campaign like it is new news. To me the real news is the DNC use of surrogates to spread talking points and the methodology they employ to rotate them, vet them. You can even get the excel spread sheet of surrogates. Discredits a whole list of names.

https://wikileaks.com/dnc-emails/emailid/6788
https://wikileaks.com/dnc-emails/?fi...0#searchresult

It seems like the first thing to ask anyone speaking publicly is: Did you receive talking points from the campaign or the DNC, are you a surrogate?

and just to keep it equal opportunity: the same is probably true for the RNC and their surrogates.

[fuzzalow]

Originally Posted by dave thompson

What purports to be "news" in this country can only be politely called 'entertainment/opinion'. Plus I'm of the opinion that the public are, by and large, intellectually lazy and want to be fed opinions that only agree with theirs.

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Hear, hear!!

I agree with you gentlemen and I would actually take it one step further: It is less that the average public is intellectually lazy and more that the average public is intellectually incompetent.

I do not believe critical thinking is seen as neccesary or important by the average public - this skill or inclination is neither valued as a personal trait nor is required as a professional skill deemed mandatory to their ability to earn a livelihood. In fairness, one does what is needed to do a job and the employer is not responsible for the intellectual well being of their employees. So the blame for remaining ignorant falls into the lap of each individual.

I can only fear that the comfort of stupidity and a closed mind has seeped into the university system where there have been efforts and behaviours in limiting free thought and free speech. This happening in the singular environment that should value these qualities to young minds above all else. I find this occurrence both confounding and self immolating to students professed to higher education.

The balkanization of media outlets to defined pathways of bias and editorial bent is merely a symptom of a dullard audience exploited by commercial opportunism. I do not blame the commercial mass media outlets, they work in a hot, time-compressed and commercially driven environment - they bear no real responsibility to enlighten their viewers any more than most employers care about the intellectual well being of their employees. That is not what they are there for. Every person bears the responsibility to look after themselves. Water seeks its own level.

If you value quality content I think you gotta pay for it. But I would also never equate news as conflated with content, it is simply news.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by fuzzalow

I agree with you gentlemen and I would actually take it one step further: It is less that the average public is intellectually lazy and more that the average public is intellectually incompetent.

I do not believe critical thinking is seen as neccesary or important by the average public - this skill or inclination is neither valued as a personal trait nor is required as a professional skill deemed mandatory to their ability to earn a livelihood. In fairness, one does what is needed to do a job and the employer is not responsible for the intellectual well being of their employees. So the blame for remaining ignorant falls into the lap of each individual.

I can only fear that the comfort of stupidity and a closed mind has seeped into the university system where there have been efforts and behaviours in limiting free thought and free speech. This happening in the singular environment that should value these qualities to young minds above all else. I find this occurrence both confounding and self immolating to students professed to higher education.

The balkanization of media outlets to defined pathways of bias and editorial bent is merely a symptom of a dullard audience exploited by commercial opportunism. I do not blame the commercial mass media outlets, they work in a hot, time-compressed and commercially driven environment - they bear no real responsibility to enlighten their viewers any more than most employers care about the intellectual well being of their employees. That is not what they are there for. Every person bears the responsibility to look after themselves. Water seeks its own level.

If you value quality content I think you gotta pay for it. But I would also never equate news as conflated with content, it is simply news.

Hear hear again..why I worry about this november.

[rustychisel]

Thank you, and goodnight.

[bcroslin]

Always remember, if it's on TV it's entertainment.