Tuning out the news

[pcxmbfj]

Originally Posted by GonaSovereign

A lot of people benefit when the masses tune out. It's almost as bad as tuning in to the garbage news.

Here's a handy news consumption chart (not mine). It's a straightforward and reasonably accurate guide to selecting a legitimate source. It's a bit like a nutrition guide: consume from both sides of the middle/top area. Don't be spoon-fed by the bottom. If you don't consume anything, you're starved of info.

[IMG]News diet

Up vote this! Most if not all TV news tends toward hyperbole. Even PBS, my preferred, seems to becoming a magazine.

Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by pcxmbfj

Up vote this!

Where's www.aljazeera.com?? On that chart..I look at it cuz just the name tweaks a certain 'person'...

[Elefantino]

Originally Posted by jamesdak

So, so true. I even did a college paper years ago trying to prove that the mainstream media was unbiased and could not prove it. They are all just a mouthpiece pushing an agenda.

Not all. Unless you count truth as an agenda; then, yes, myself included.

[GonaSovereign]

Originally Posted by beeatnik

My favorite jam at 17

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PS7vu0IQhqE

I hear it every day on the radio
Somebody shoots a guy he don't even know
Airplanes falling out of the sky
A baby is born and another one dies
Highways fill with refugees, now
Doctors finding out about disease
With all this uptight pushing and shoving
Keeps us away from who we're loving (loving)

Progressive hardcore punk is so weird.

Grant Hart RIP.

[zap]

Back on topic, I think it is healthy tuning out "news" from time to time.

[Davist]

Originally Posted by choke

I haven't paid attention to mainstream news outlets for years....they're toxic IMO. And they all have a bias....

A letter from Thomas Jefferson in 1807:

I'm sure T Jefferson knew the difference between its and it's (not a slam on you, Choke! on the interweb source material). Funny how everything old is new again, right? the 24 hour OPINION cycle is not worthy of too much attention, now or previously, IMHO. I've scaled back on it as well.

[Gummee]

Originally Posted by Elefantino

Not all. Unless you count truth as an agenda; then, yes, myself included.

First you need to recognize personal biases in the writing/coverage of said 'truth.'

Then you need to compare biases against each other to figure out the 'real Truth.'

You can tell from the way adjectives are used which direction the particular writer is leaning. I'd prefer there were no biases in the news, but that'll never happen. What's worse are overtly biased coverages masquerading as non-biased sources.

Everyone has a lens through which they view the world. If you keep reading/watching the news and keep getting the 'truth' and keep agreeing with everything, be very wary because you're not getting 'the Truth.'

M

[makoti]

Originally Posted by jamesdak

So, so true. I even did a college paper years ago trying to prove that the mainstream media was unbiased and could not prove it. They are all just a mouthpiece pushing an agenda.

So tell me, those of you who love to bash the "mainstream media", where do you get your information? The middle may have biases, but on balance they give a reasonably unbiased reading of the news. The...what, non-mainstream?...is littered with "news' that is so biased as to be little more than political ads.
Who do you trust, if not the established news sources? Where do you go to find news slanted the way you like it? Because that's all you're doing.

[Ralph]

OK....so cut back some, don't let it run your life. But please don't tune out completely. An apathetic public is a dangerous thing. Hitler never had more than 40% of the people supporting him, and by the time the rest woke up....it was too late.

[tuscanyswe]

Ill tune out as soon as i feel theres a person reasonably responsible in charge of the "world".

[Ozz]

I guess we should consider ourselves lucky there is freedom of the press...even if it can be biased: "'Tank man' video for Leica sparks outcry in China ahead of Tiananmen anniversary"

"The ruling Communist Party has never declared how many people died in the crackdown and discussion of the incident is censored on social media."

I guess pretending it never happened is one strategy.....

[Blue Jays]

Originally Posted by Blue Jays

"...Pleasantly shocked that nobody has invoked Godwin’s Law in this thread yet..."

Originally Posted by Ralph

"...Hitler never had more than 40% of the people supporting him..."

It took until the third page, yet I knew we would do it!

[BlueFly]

Originally Posted by tuscanyswe

Ill tune out as soon as i feel theres a person reasonably responsible in charge of the "world".

Amen, Bro

[Bruce K]

We were doing so good....

Can we PLEASE refrain from Hitler references and try and stay on the rails?

Even the chart was pretty objective and lots of the commentary has been on point and respectful.

Thanks in advance

BK

[jlwdm]

I love all of the technology advancements that have taken place. When I got out of law school and wanted to change something in a document the whole document was retyped. Later I worked for a restaurant company where an office of about 15 people shared one computer. Now I live on my phone and use zillions of apps and send docusigns almost daily.

The downside is I cannot put my phone down. If I am waiting in line at a fast casual restaurant I am looking at my phone. If I am watching tv I am still searching the web or looking at emails. I feel like I never relax. Clients expect to be able to contact me by text almost 24 hrs a day.

Phones and social media have likewise had positive and negative influences on the news. I can get news immediately, but usually it is not news I need immediately. I don't need to know about every bus crash or other accident in a foreign country or other part of the US. I do not need to know about the lives of celebrities. I think it is really difficult to be in the news business as someone is going to post about a situation before you can verify the information. News sources that do not worry about their reputations will post immediately and pay for stories. And in-depth verified news has less value today as people are looking for sound bites. So I do not follow a lot of news. I have a few streaming services and a TV antenna but I do not watch any tv news.

I listen to some sports news in the car and it amazes me how they can take 15 minutes to talk about something that is worth one minute. They are just trying to fill up the space.

I don't like the fact that with technology people are videoing everything that someone is doing. I also don't care if someone did something wrong as a youth. I don't want elected officials who have never made a mistake. On the other hand I do not understand why anyone who run for office in this day and age. You are giving up your privacy and your life. i stated quite a few years ago that I did not think I would ever see a candidate for president that I would want to vote for. So far this is true. I register as an independent but that does not have much value in a country with essentially a two party system.

It worries me where technology is taking us.

Jeff