I am torn about the news (in general)

[s1mp13m4n]

Alright folks, I will start by saying that I am simply putting random thought out there and may babble a bit, but mean no disrespect.
I have never been a big fan of the news. It seems like all you ever hear about is the bad stuff. People getting killed, robberies, bad storms, how much the economy stinks, etc. I do not want to hear about all those bad things all the time. It paints a bleak and hopeless perspective for current life and the future. Why do we not hear about the good that people do in the news?
My wife was watching CNN to keep up with what has been going on for the last few days. Thats fine and yeah we need to know what is going on, but the media just keeps going on and on and beats the story and coverage in to the ground.......they drag it out....almost as to hype it up.
I am torn between being a news hermit and just not watching at all and also being informed as to what is going on in the world around us. Life moves on weither we watch the news or not. Does anyone remember a news story that was big news lets say 10 ot 20 years a go? Most do not, which means the news is basically about the events of the moment and soon to be forgotten when the next big news story hits the air.
Like I said, I am just rambling. Where is the balance of getting the news info you want so you can stay up to date about the world vs being a complete news hermit? Just like the 80s song says "we need dirty laundry", and that is what sells. I really do not care about the dirty laundry. Am I wrong for feeling this way?

 

[durango]

First off, the old news adage is, "If it bleeds, it leads."

You're not wrong for feeling this way. It is just very difficult to find cheery news because news producers and advertisers have found that audiences don't gravitate to it naturally. Bad news sells and draws viewers. Good news rarely does as well in the marketplace. News is a business, so business functions often affect how and what kind of news is delivered.

Another part of what you're seeing is the way that news has changed since 24-hour cable news really became popular in the 1990s over broadcast news. Cable news repeats a lot because it has to. Cable news also has to compete with Internet news, which tends to be constant, realtime, unedited, and often not immediately verified.

As you peruse news media, one way to counter this is to look several places for your news. Another way is to use a news aggregator like drudgereport.com (just one example).

For a while during the 40s-70s, people who studied news thought that viewers would believe most everything they saw on the news. This was often termed the "hypodermic needle effect" with the idea that merely suggesting the news causes people to act on it. The Walter Cronkite era really typifies this -- news producers and Mr. Cronkite both framed the news the way they saw it and presented it as the only "real" news, filtering out stories depending on their own tests of newsworthiness.

More recent studies have led to the theory that people tend to find news sources that they feel agree with their worldview or perspective. The use of the Internet has shifted how people get their news and has undermined the traditional role that newspapers and broadcast news networks once had.

Media obviously does have an effect on how you see the world, but if you are selecting your own sources of media, you do have quite a bit of control over how you shape your understanding of the news.

 

[3dots]

Hi there Simple Man,

You are not wrong in feeling the way that you do. I too avoid the news because all you're going to see and here is the bad, I've been this way for years. There is sooooo much good in the world and human interest stories that would be great to see but that's not what sells.

If watching all the pain on the news affects you emotionally, as it does me, then don't watch it. I just flip it over to Sponge Bob and have a laugh . Life is too short and I'm a happy-go-lucky person that needs no downers on a daily basis.

 

[s1mp13m4n]

Hi there Simple Man,

You are not wrong in feeling the way that you do. I too avoid the news because all you're going to see and here is the bad, I've been this way for years. There is sooooo much good in the world and human interest stories that would be great to see but that's not what sells.

If watching all the pain on the news affects you emotionally, as it does me, then don't watch it. I just flip it over to Sponge Bob and have a laugh . Life is too short and I'm a happy-go-lucky person that needs no downers on a daily basis.

I get upset over the news I am seeing over the last few days and think foolish and certainly unloving thoughts such as "these terrorists do not give a poo about us and our country, so lets just blow there country off the map and the problem goes away." Sure that is not realistic or the right thing to do, but trying to figure out "who dunit" after the damage is done is not working either. On a goofy note, if these morons believe that if they sacrifice themselves in some attack and then will have 12 virgins waiting for them....well lets help them out. LOL the thing is that no book I have ever read in my study of religion ever said those virgins were female. Habib just might end up with 12 dudes. I am watching CNN with my wife, she turns it on to see what is happening. I am not watching the news by choice. LOL

 

[Bamabred]

I'm not against news, but the 24hr news networks aren't helpful. Wth that said I do remember big stories from 10-20 years ago: the Challenger exploding, Reagan being shot, OJ trial.

 

[walkin jack]

I must agree with the op. Only I'm not torn. I am very clearly and very permanently "turned off" when it come to electronic and print new media. Even if they didn't slant (spin) things to the liberal point of view it is still just to sad/bad/tragic/hopless/etc to bear.

I quit the news paper years ago because I got fed up with all the adds and all the bad news. I quit tv news because of people like Dan Rather and Katie Couric.

I agree that more focus should be put on positive stories and good news. stories about young people and all the good stuff they are doing. Human interest stuff. Stories that make you smile instead of grind your teeth in helpless rage.

I sure do miss the Paul Harvey News on the radio.........Good Day.

 

[Arik]

I get upset over the news I am seeing over the last few days and think foolish and certainly unloving thoughts such as "these terrorists do not give a poo about us and our country, so lets just blow there country off the map and the problem goes away." Sure that is not realistic or the right thing to do, but trying to figure out "who dunit" after the damage is done is not working either. On a goofy note, if these morons believe that if they sacrifice themselves in some attack and then will have 12 virgins waiting for them....well lets help them out. LOL the thing is that no book I have ever read in my study of religion ever said those virgins were female. Habib just might end up with 12 dudes. I am watching CNN with my wife, she turns it on to see what is happening. I am not watching the news by choice. LOL

I wouldn't go blowing up their countries cause we'd have to start right here. OKC bombing ...remember?

I have muslim friends and co-workers. Great bunch of guys!

Just last month my dad had a problem with a co-worker and quit. The ONLY person to stand up for him was a Jordanian guy. He's muslim, my dad is jewish. They both know who the other is. The Jordanian guy kept in touch with my dad and helped get him his job back.

People are people. Most are normal and a few bad apples ruin it for everyone. So places have more bad apples than others

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

 

[tork'd]

i like to be aware of what's going on.
but like others find the 24/7/365 news too much.
to keep up(somewhat) I only read the sunday paper...ofcourse saving the funnys for the last thing.
I also know when the local weather will be on and watch that the see how wrong they will be the next day.

 

[LeeVance]

Consider what we diod for news before CNN?

They were the first 24 hour News Network, now look at how many there are, around the world!

My Sirur Radio has five or six news channels, nothing but news and they do have to avoid "dead air"...lol

The much bigger problem I see, is the "quality" of the reporting!

Some of these "reporters" in the field are just "not good"

Ive seen some comical "stuff" on air the last few days watching Boston and TX events.....looked like a high school CC news station.

 

[Checkman]

Several years ago I was on a big news kick. Watched it, read it, surfed it on the Internet and so on. I realized that I was experiencing depression, anger, and an almost overwhelming sense of frustration that just caused more anger and depression and so on and so forth.

So I stopped. I took to just scanning the newspaper a couple times a week and listening to it on the radio once in awhile.

You know what I discovered? Well a few things.

1) I found my mood improving. There are always good and bad things going on. Always will be until we die. Get busy living your own life.

2) I really wasn't any less aware of the world than when I was a news junkie. If something major is happening it isn't that hard to find out what is going on. Today I watched the news from Boston for about two hours. I then turned it off. I just scanned the news here on the Internet and nothing has changed. So back to doing those things I want to do. I keep up on RKBA issues here and a few other forums and the NRA site.

3) I feel better. I don't feel powerless.

4) Don't spend so much time paying attention to the news. Ultimately all they really want is your attention because their advertisers want the viewers to watch their commercials and the advertisers pay big bucks so all those talking heads can have their condos and sports cars. I don't care if it's Fox, CNN or MSNBC - they are all the same.

 

[fat tom]

Catastrophic news predominates because all of the sheeple watching at home can feel better about their miserable existances. Same goes for soap operas.
f.t.

 

[rwsmith]

News media is not

The news media is not about news, it's about ratings. Period. Sensational yellow journalism describes the best of them. The worst..... well.......

 

[Arik]

They are a bunch of idiots.

Today on Ch10 they are claiming the Russian community in Philadelphia is fearing backlash over the bombings. They were interviewing a co-owner of a Central Asian (soviet) restaurant.

Ok so here's the problem. Restaurant is called Uzbekistan.Central Asia and Uzbekistan dont share anything with Chechnya. Neither do Russians. And the co-owner of said restaurant is Croatian. No where near Chechnya. Croatia was part of Yugoslavia.

In a nut shell....they are creating drama for no reason

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

 

[timn8er]

s1mp13m4n:

"They can do the innuendo, they can dance & sing,
But when they're done they haven't told you a thing".

That was one of the best lines in that song, to me!

 

[johngalt]

I am tired of all the doom and gloom. Nothing but bad news, every decision (no matter which side) is completely blown out of proportion to spin it as a disaster of epic proportions. It's no wonder that people get depressed.

 

[LVSteve]

I'm not in the least bit torn in having far less charitable views of the modern media. It's all about being first, not being correct. Being first is what they trumpet to get more advertising money. Remember, despite what all these types will tell you, they are a business, not a public service.

 

[Poodle Soup]

The media today seems to be composed of a bunch of liberal slime who care of nothing beyond ratings and money. They don't care whose lives they ruin or what lies they spread as long as they get viewers.

I cannot stand the TV. I think it should be censored. At least in a news paper you have to be intelligent enough to read, the TV has a million uneducated zombies staring at it just waiting for their thoughts to be programed into their head.

 

[Frank46]

I've watched the "talking heads" do their thing. Most of what they come up with is sometimes no where near as to what is going on. It may be me but after the first few hours it all seems to be the same whichever channel you turn to. So I just ignore it or watch another channel. When something relavent comes up they will interupt the channel with breaking news. Sadly what with the bombings in Boston and the huge fire in West Texas what should have been was a focus on those whom have been killed and injured. I sometimes think we are in danger of loosing our humanity. Frank

 

[chud333]

I quit watching the National news programs long ago.
I will catch local news from time to time, (mostly to get
my weather, sports).
When this latest event happened out of Mass. i stupidly tuned
in to catch the "latest developments" last night and again this
morning. Just curious to see if they had caught the jerks yet.
I was only able to stomach about ten minutes of the drivel
and "expert commentators" who are brought on to tell us all
police procedures, what the criminals might be thinking/doing,
And the usual eyewitness accounts from (Mrs. X who lives
across the street from where the cops are searching now).
The usual Bravo, Sierra.........
I'll take a pass.

Chuck

 

[LVSteve]

If you want to judge how paranoid the media are about their jobs and how they wish to control information, consider the following. Buddy of mine was listening online to the LE radio feed from Boston last night that was inexplicably left live. He also had his TV on and the delay from what he heard on the scanner to broadcast was 10-15 minutes.

That did not bother him at all, but the comment from the talking head, "Don't believe what you hear on the scanner feeds" was telling. Media folk are terrified that you will get the news raw and without their spin. Worse, you will then realise how much spin they apply, stop using them and make them redundant. Cannot come too soon for many of them IMHO.