An extension to this principle would be to focus all of that energy into consuming news that, for you, ISN'T a closed circuit, and that potential could have a d

An extension to this principle would be to focus all of that energy into consuming news that, for you, ISN'T a closed circuit, and that potential could have a direct impact in your life. I'm not in any position now or in the near future to do a darn thing about the soldiers in Iraq, but topics covered by my trade association publication, or news items about work that is going on around me, etc., might. Likelihood of that reading having an impact on my life (and equally of my life impacting the thing reported) is far, far higher, so it would seem the returns to that reading heavily outweigh the returns to reading the NYT.