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OT: How many of you gave up watching the "news"?

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BobbyPurify

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Aug 30, 2013
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Isn't it just depressing? It's all garbage these days. And it's sad that those headlines are what they profit from. Then, you go online to head-butting matches where each opposing poster believes they're right and can't understand nor empathize with the other. I think, in my humble opinion, that our current society is headed downward and we've all just about completely abandoned our cohesive ways.

Or am I just crazy? :)
 
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It's all hot garbage, but relative hot garbage. MSNBC and Fox isn't actual news. It's conjecture to fit a pretty specific agenda. CNN is similar, but not quite as blatant about it. Local news is about the only source that provides a decent amount of objective information.

People drive the "information" news delivers. It's entertainment, for the most part. The masses demand Us Weekly news, not actual pertinent information. Eyes make money. Money drives news.
 
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I don't watch/listen to hardly any of it anymore. It has been over five years since I watched more than three minutes of a newscast. Most of the stuff is sensationalized garbage. I listen to NPR but most of the time they are discussing very specific issues in depth...and these issues tend to be about science, culture, history, or religion...not "traditional" news.
 
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I may abandon it all together. Just focus on my job and family. Ultimately, that's all I can control. Hillary or Trump may be the next president and the sun will still come up and I'll still have to perform in all factions of my life, regardless of the decisions being made for us. Maybe I'm just waking up to something everyone else has already understood. Or is this entirely apathetic? Like everything in life, I'll find out through experience
 
According to the statistics, the folks who watch news are basically averaging something like 70+ years old on Fox, and just slightly younger for CNN. So unless this board is composed of dudes from back in the day, on average, I would say most board goers don't watch much cable news.
 
BobbyPurify said:
I may abandon it all together. Just focus on my job and family. Ultimately, that's all I can control. Hillary or Trump may be the next president and the sun will still come up and I'll still have to perform in all factions of my life, regardless of the decisions being made for us. Maybe I'm just waking up to something everyone else has already understood. Or is this entirely apathetic? Like everything in life, I'll find out through experience
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You're not alone. Everyone has to have their "wake up" moment. Mine was a few years ago. What is awesome though, is this is happening in record numbers right now.
 
St. Anger said:
You're not alone. Everyone has to have their "wake up" moment. Mine was a few years ago. What is awesome though, is this is happening in record numbers right now.
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In my job watching the news kinda goes hand in hand with the duty. So its usually on in the background somewhere. But when I'm in the car driving home, its sports talk, and I don't watch news at all, national or local. Full turtle mode. I just don't have the time to sit and watch the agendas, and of all the things I could be doing, watching the news is nowhere near the top of my list.
 
St. Anger said:
You're not alone. Everyone has to have their "wake up" moment. Mine was a few years ago. What is awesome though, is this is happening in record numbers right now.
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Still too small of number to matter unfortunately.

Much of the news is just played to the group who will be most outraged. Sadly that is a fairly large group in the US.
 
suhnami said:
Still too small of number to matter unfortunately.

Much of the news is just played to the group who will be most outraged. Sadly that is a fairly large group in the US.
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Right, but it's trending in the right direction.

News is catered to the part of the population that is just smart enough to not get hit by a car on a daily basis. That's a massive number, unfortunately. I used to estimate around 90%.
 
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I read a lot of message boards while I work as I have an affection for written discourse/argument. It's hardly tolerable anymore. We don't conversate - we force our opinions which we treat as "fact" down each other's throat - and we're becoming so much more verbally violent that it's alarming. Observing this has lead me to conclude we're headed down a path that isn't going to end up well. Of course, I'd be intellectually dishonest to not acknowledge that I could be completely wrong.
 
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For a long time I've felt that watching the news isn't healthy. No matter what the bias, watching the news is an exercise in being afraid. So much of the information is presented in a fashion to make you alarmed. I get most of my news from reading the web daily, but even that information source has the same issues. The impact of fear inducing headlines is easier to overcome versus the spoken word, so it's working better for me. I refuse to spend my life afraid of everything.
 
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BobbyPurify said:
I read a lot of message boards while I work as I have an affection for written discourse/argument. It's hardly tolerable anymore. We don't conversate - we force our opinions which we treat as "fact" down each other's throat - and we're becoming so much more verbally violent that it's alarming. Observing this has lead me to conclude we're headed down a path that isn't going to end up well. Of course, I'd be intellectually dishonest to not acknowledge that I could be completely wrong.
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I think you're right, but sometimes, as crazy as this sounds, the "verbally violent" one-way conversation is a good thing. There are things we just know now and we're sick of the political argument from the other side for just that, the sake of argument. Like, we know smoking kills you (bad example). We know discrimination is wrong (treading lightly here, on purpose) so we don't even need to hear whatever bigoted argument disguised as political rhetoric you want to spew. We know it's wrong. Done. Shut up.
 
SilentCommit said:
For a long time I've felt that watching the news isn't healthy. No matter what the bias, watching the news is an exercise in being afraid. So much of the information is presented in a fashion to make you alarmed. I get most of my news from reading the web daily, but even that information source has the same issues. The impact of fear inducing headlines is easier to overcome versus the spoken word, so it's working better for me. I refuse to spend my life afraid of everything.
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Fear is the greatest motivator.

I sell for a large manufacture and "fear" is always in my back pocket. Excellent post btw
 
Do you realize every generation has felt that "society is heading downward" because things aren't how they used to be.

Yet, for almost every example of something bad happening, I can point to something good and advanced that has happened due to progressive change. We now have technology in healthcare that has made life expectancy significantly longer than "back in the day." We can look up pretty much anything on our PHONES in about 10 seconds. We can do video chats from our PHONES from anywhere in the world. Back in the day, people used to be hung for being of a different color. Women couldn't vote, etc. etc.

Yes, change is troubling to many (and soon to be myself I'm sure as I continue to age), but I have to look at the several advancements society has taken along with the negatives and realize that as long as the world keeps turning, it will continue to keep changing. I don't much believe in the concept of any given President or individual "ruining what is left of our country." We've survived cheating Presidents, criminal Presidents, conservative Presidents and liberal Presidents and will continue to do so well into the future.
 
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chicolby said:
Do you realize every generation has felt that "society is heading downward" because things aren't how they used to be.
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This. People seem to have their memories completely wiped out about every 4 years. Sheep.
 
This is a great topic.. I notice the older I get, the more it affects me negatively. In some ways, with the Interent, it contributes even more to the overload of sensationalized stories. People become de-sensitized, so the stories become even more dramatic. One of these days, I'm going to shut off the net all together. I really don't want to see another story about Kim K's large behind or Bruce's Playboy aspirations, or that some knucklehead likes to poop in hole 2 of a certain golf course.. That was worth a good laugh though.
 
chicolby said:
Do you realize every generation has felt that "society is heading downward" because things aren't how they used to be.

Yet, for almost every example of something bad happening, I can point to something good and advanced that has happened due to progressive change. We now have technology in healthcare that has made life expectancy significantly longer than "back in the day." We can look up pretty much anything on our PHONES in about 10 seconds. We can do video chats from our PHONES from anywhere in the world. Back in the day, people used to be hung for being of a different color. Women couldn't vote, etc. etc.

Yes, change is troubling to many (and soon to be myself I'm sure as I continue to age), but I have to look at the several advancements society has taken along with the negatives and realize that as long as the world keeps turning, it will continue to keep changing. I don't much believe in the concept of any given President or individual "ruining what is left of our country." We've survived cheating Presidents, criminal Presidents, conservative Presidents and liberal Presidents and will continue to do so well into the future.
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Sure there's good actions in this world but what's different about now and the past is information and the rate at which we yield it. So, I respectfully disagree with your stance but adhere to the fact that you could be correct.
 
Historians often talk about separating myth from fact. People have in their mind certain myths and legends about the old days, shaped by political imagery on the stump or even things like old John Wayne movies and other pop culture.

When we hold ourselves up to Camelot then, a lot of folks tend to resort to "oh how far we've fallen", when in a lot of cases, we're not actually behind, but ahead.

Dynamics do change, and older people have a hard time adjusting what they didn't know their entire life. I'm sure there are things I would prefer when I'm 60, that my son's generation won't do a certain way. But I don't necessarily have to hold it up as the world crumbling.
 
NikkiSixx said:
This is a great topic.. I notice the older I get, the more it affects me negatively. In some ways, with the Interent, it contributes even more to the overload of sensationalized stories. People become de-sensitized, so the stories become even more dramatic. One of these days, I'm going to shut off the net all together. I really don't want to see another story about Kim K's large behind or Bruce's Playboy aspirations, or that some knucklehead likes to poop in hole 2 of a certain golf course.. That was worth a good laugh though.
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+1

I know every generation says it, but wow...I just don't know where the next generation is going.
 
I only time I watch ANY national news is when something in the sciences are being discussed (example the Pluto flyby last week, or wildfires in different area of the US), just because normally they will give you a larger picture than the local news will on topics such as those. Other than that, its strictly local news for me, and even then, its normally just weather and sports, because how many times can they jam down your throat that so and so was murdered in the same area of town day after day. Oh, and you think National News is bad now... Just wait until the election cycle really gets going. That's when it really gets "fun".

Like others have said, I mainly worry about me and family. What I can't control I don't care about much.
 
kchu5ker555 said:
+1

I know every generation says it, but wow...I just don't know where the next generation is going.
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You have to realize too that, the folks on TV doing the sensational stories are generally not the younger generation.

Bill Oreilly and Greta are not my age. Neither is the main cast on any of the other networks. And I would gather that unless Fox and the other news networks are extremely progressive, most of the people responsible for selecting content are not my age either.

If this bus is going over a cliff, the so called "responsible" generations are driving us there, for little more reward than a nice retirement.
 
Social media just perpetuates this kind of sensationalism. I can't tell you how many friends will repost some meme and get all hot and bothered by it...and it's completely untrue.

"Everything on the Internet is true." - Abraham Lincoln
 
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jflores said:
You have to realize too that, the folks on TV doing the sensational stories are generally not the younger generation.

Bill Oreilly and Greta are not my age. Neither is the main cast on any of the other networks. And I would gather that unless Fox and the other news networks are extremely progressive, most of the people responsible for selecting content are not my age either.

If this bus is going over a cliff, the so called "responsible" generations are driving us there, for little more reward than a nice retirement.
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Fair I suppose, but I think it's important to be informed. Our political system is clearly broken, but ignoring it won't fix anything. Everyone (of all ages) shares in this responsibility.
 
kchu5ker555 said:
Fair I suppose, but I think it's important to be informed. Our political system is clearly broken, but ignoring it won't fix anything.
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Agreed. The 2-party system has been broken for some time. I'm all for very limited government but that's not likely to happen anytime soon. The government makes too much money off of us to reduce. The only solution I see at this time is elect a Libertarian or Independent. Give them a turn.
 
St. Anger said:
Agreed. The 2-party system has been broken for some time. I'm all for very limited government but that's not likely to happen anytime soon. The government makes too much money off of us to reduce. The only solution I see at this time is elect a Libertarian or Independent. Give them a turn.
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Yub. Electing the same old life-long politicians is a broken record. We need to make a radical shift in 2016 and see what real change looks like. Given our 3-legged government stool, I think the risk would not be as great as some think. The Titanic doesn't turn very fast.
 
kchu5ker555 said:
Yub. Electing the same old life-long politicians is a broken record. We need to make a radical shift in 2016 and see what real change looks like. Given our 3-legged government stool, I think the risk would not be as great as some think. The Titanic doesn't turn very fast.
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I've got so many older family members who are republican that just cannot stop blaming Obama for everything. But dems are the exact same way. It's such a farce for the uneducated.
 
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Twitter has replaced the news for me. I follow the outlets that talk about I want to listen about. Short description allows me to quickly skip the stories that I have no interest in.
 
splebanek said:
Twitter has replaced the news for me. I follow the outlets that talk about I want to listen about. Short description allows me to quickly skip the stories that I have no interest in.
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News on demand! We can search out our own truths now and filter our path to personal enlightenment. There's some good and bad qualities to this.
 
St. Anger said:
It's all hot garbage, but relative hot garbage. MSNBC and Fox isn't actual news. It's conjecture to fit a pretty specific agenda. CNN is similar, but not quite as blatant about it. Local news is about the only source that provides a decent amount of objective information.

People drive the "information" news delivers. It's entertainment, for the most part. The masses demand Us Weekly news, not actual pertinent information. Eyes make money. Money drives news.
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I watch very rarely. My complaint is it is all bad. In my work, social life, volunteering, etc. I see mostly good. If they would balance it out a little by telling a few good stories, I might not be as depressed watching it.

As far as the Us Weekly thing - are you saying if they did it like back in the old days where Chet Huntley or Walter Cronkite sat there with thick glasses and a cigarette and read just the facts you would be more inclined to watch?
 
jflores said:
Historians often talk about separating myth from fact. People have in their mind certain myths and legends about the old days, shaped by political imagery on the stump or even things like old John Wayne movies and other pop culture.

When we hold ourselves up to Camelot then, a lot of folks tend to resort to "oh how far we've fallen", when in a lot of cases, we're not actually behind, but ahead.

Dynamics do change, and older people have a hard time adjusting what they didn't know their entire life. I'm sure there are things I would prefer when I'm 60, that my son's generation won't do a certain way. But I don't necessarily have to hold it up as the world crumbling.
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"The illusion that the times that were are better than those that are, has pervaded all ages."

So said Horace Greeley, more than 150 years ago
 
St. Anger said:
I've got so many older family members who are republican that just cannot stop blaming Obama for everything. But dems are the exact same way. It's such a farce for the uneducated.
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Yep, politicians love it this way. They each got their base (of sheep) that will believe every last thing told to them, and defend it no matter how stupid they look doing it. I'd consider it comical if it wasn't our country doing it. They have basically divided us against ourselves.
 
Good topic. Yes, I have given up on national news. I don't know if things are so much worse then they were 20 years ago, but as others have said, the bad news is instantaneous and is overwhelming, right or wrong. I would say that there appears to be more fear-mongering than ever before; every idiot with 1/4 of a brain and / or agenda can beat people over the head with their message. Unfortunately, the idiots / agendiots far outweigh the rational and thoughtful.
 
What really gets me is how the 24 / 7 news cycle has increased the hype level of, well, everything. I was visiting my Dad and Mom the other day. My Dad is 80, and we get around to discussing politics (we couldn't be more different, this pains him, haha). He asks me if I think Isis is the greatest threat we face, and I told him no. He watches a lot of news....and now he believes that Isis is a greater threat to his survival than say, a car wreck, a heart attack, you name it. What drives me crazy is that people who are scared will make terrible decisions they wouldn't normally make. And I wonder, as I age further, am I going to do the same thing?
 
I gave up TV long ago. I'm a news junkie. I've been getting my news from NPR, BBC and The Economist for many years.
 
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