5 ms·

Why I Stopped Watching the News

18 points by ahmad19526 12y ago

herge 12y ago
Do you know how to figure out if someone does not own a TV? Don't worry, they'll let you know as soon as they can.
- theandrewbailey 12y ago
  It can be inferred from my default excuse: "I don't watch TV."
- tboyd47 12y ago
  > My roommate turned on CNN Author clearly has a TV. The post is about the news.
- theorique 12y ago
  The Onion nailed it: http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-constantly-mentioning-he-doesnt-own-a-tel,429/ http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-constantly-mention...
cellover 12y ago
I was reading earlier about the wikipedia page for "The Society of Spectacle" and this might be relevant here: > The Society of the Spectacle is a critique of contemporary consumer culture and commodity fetishism. Before the term "globalization" was popularized, Debord was arguing about issues such as class alienation, cultural homogenization, and the mass media. Also: > "The spectacle is not a collection of images," Debord writes, "rather, it is a social relationship between people that is mediated by images." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Society_of_the_Spectacle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Society_of_the_Spectacle
acomjean 12y ago
The news can be really annoying and upsetting at times (Almost click-baity). They like to pump you full of fear with the "teases" so you pay attention (10 things in your kitchen that might kill you! Watch the news, we'll tell you what they are). Bruce Scheiner said it best in a podcast: I'm paraphrasing: generally if its news, you don't have to worry about it because its uncommon, thats why its news. I'm happier not paying much attention to it as well. That being said if you live in democracy its kinda important to at least pay some attention to what is going on so you can make informed voting decisions. If you can find a local source of news, the information is more actionable and usefull. In boston the public radio does an interview/local news radio show [1] that runs 3 hours daily. Its kind of funny too which helps. And we have a news magazine called Chronicle [2]which documents interesting stuff going on in the area. [1]http://wgbhnews.org/ http://wgbhnews.org/ [2]http://www.wcvb.com/chronicle http://www.wcvb.com/chronicle
otterley 12y ago
There are some good newscasts out there that aren't predicated on emotional manipulation. May I suggest the PBS NewsHour, or Sky News?
theorique 12y ago
Good article. This is why I quit watching the main networks and only get news from infowars.com.
sportsenglebart 12y ago
Freelancing is not for everyone. If you do not have the heart for it, you might have a slim chance at survival.

18 points by ahmad19526 12y ago

herge 12y ago

Do you know how to figure out if someone does not own a TV? Don't worry, they'll let you know as soon as they can.

theandrewbailey 12y ago
It can be inferred from my default excuse: "I don't watch TV."
tboyd47 12y ago
> My roommate turned on CNN Author clearly has a TV. The post is about the news.
theorique 12y ago
The Onion nailed it: http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-constantly-mentioning-he-doesnt-own-a-tel,429/ http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-constantly-mention...

cellover 12y ago

I was reading earlier about the wikipedia page for "The Society of Spectacle" and this might be relevant here: > The Society of the Spectacle is a critique of contemporary consumer culture and commodity fetishism. Before the term "globalization" was popularized, Debord was arguing about issues such as class alienation, cultural homogenization, and the mass media. Also: > "The spectacle is not a collection of images," Debord writes, "rather, it is a social relationship between people that is mediated by images." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Society_of_the_Spectacle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Society_of_the_Spectacle

acomjean 12y ago

The news can be really annoying and upsetting at times (Almost click-baity). They like to pump you full of fear with the "teases" so you pay attention (10 things in your kitchen that might kill you! Watch the news, we'll tell you what they are). Bruce Scheiner said it best in a podcast: I'm paraphrasing: generally if its news, you don't have to worry about it because its uncommon, thats why its news. I'm happier not paying much attention to it as well. That being said if you live in democracy its kinda important to at least pay some attention to what is going on so you can make informed voting decisions. If you can find a local source of news, the information is more actionable and usefull. In boston the public radio does an interview/local news radio show [1] that runs 3 hours daily. Its kind of funny too which helps. And we have a news magazine called Chronicle [2]which documents interesting stuff going on in the area. [1]http://wgbhnews.org/ http://wgbhnews.org/ [2]http://www.wcvb.com/chronicle http://www.wcvb.com/chronicle

otterley 12y ago

There are some good newscasts out there that aren't predicated on emotional manipulation. May I suggest the PBS NewsHour, or Sky News?

theorique 12y ago

Good article. This is why I quit watching the main networks and only get news from infowars.com.

sportsenglebart 12y ago

Freelancing is not for everyone. If you do not have the heart for it, you might have a slim chance at survival.