3 ms·

I understand a healthy media diet but as an able/concerned/voting citizen, I cannot justify abstaining from news* entirely. *News being defined as important in

by tbeseda 14y ago

I understand a healthy media diet but as an able/concerned/voting citizen, I cannot justify abstaining from news* entirely. *News being defined as important information about important events. (Not TMZ, GMA, opinion columns/shows, etc.)

swombat 14y ago
Do you think news is the best channel to make an informed voting choice? It could be argued either way, but it's certainly not clear. In Switzerland, the best source of info is usually the documentation that comes with the voting papers. News is just noise and opinion.
- andrewcooke 14y ago
  who said it was "best"? surely a variety of sources would be better than any one. and excluding news from those seems like a significant omission; particularly when the justification seems to be "bad news is nasty and makes me feel bad" (the other argument seems to be that you can do better things with your time, but i would have thought 15min scanning the BBC, say, while having your breakfast would be a pretty good way to manage time).
- tbeseda 14y ago
  We have decent documentation provided here, too (at least in CO). I'm unsure if it's ample enough to make a completely informed decision. Some issues demand more cultural/social context, "the full story" as it were. I think this context is probably best created by discourse and debate, but can also be augmented with news. Of course, this leads to another media/news issue in the Internet Age: consumption bias -- only reading/watching media you agree with. I try to maintain moderation and balance.
graeme 14y ago
You still hear about important events. I haven't bought a newspaper in years, but I can keep up with my family in political discussions. If something is important, people mention it.
- tbeseda 14y ago
  Until everyone stops consuming news.
  - goldfeld 14y ago
    Until humans lose their human nature, you mean? The masses have always been pretty content with their panis et circensis, and I don't see everyone enlightened with a drive to fulfill their self-assigned purpose on Earth through doing work they truly love anytime in the foreseeable future. God, what would the big corporations do then?
  - kstenerud 14y ago
    Which doesn't happen.

by tbeseda 14y ago

swombat 14y ago

Do you think news is the best channel to make an informed voting choice? It could be argued either way, but it's certainly not clear. In Switzerland, the best source of info is usually the documentation that comes with the voting papers. News is just noise and opinion.

andrewcooke 14y ago
who said it was "best"? surely a variety of sources would be better than any one. and excluding news from those seems like a significant omission; particularly when the justification seems to be "bad news is nasty and makes me feel bad" (the other argument seems to be that you can do better things with your time, but i would have thought 15min scanning the BBC, say, while having your breakfast would be a pretty good way to manage time).
tbeseda 14y ago
We have decent documentation provided here, too (at least in CO). I'm unsure if it's ample enough to make a completely informed decision. Some issues demand more cultural/social context, "the full story" as it were. I think this context is probably best created by discourse and debate, but can also be augmented with news. Of course, this leads to another media/news issue in the Internet Age: consumption bias -- only reading/watching media you agree with. I try to maintain moderation and balance.

graeme 14y ago

You still hear about important events. I haven't bought a newspaper in years, but I can keep up with my family in political discussions. If something is important, people mention it.

tbeseda 14y ago
Until everyone stops consuming news.
- goldfeld 14y ago
  Until humans lose their human nature, you mean? The masses have always been pretty content with their panis et circensis, and I don't see everyone enlightened with a drive to fulfill their self-assigned purpose on Earth through doing work they truly love anytime in the foreseeable future. God, what would the big corporations do then?
- kstenerud 14y ago
  Which doesn't happen.