I am a bit of a news junkie. I like being up on the goings-on of the world around me, and having issues presented for me to decide how to interpret and react to them.
Unfortunately, my joy at the news has been tempered over the last few years by the increasingly shrill and sensationalized nonsense which passes for journalistic genius. Either the drivel has gotten worse, I have gotten more mature and more highly exacting of the information I consume, or (and most likely) a combination of both. Somewhere between work, theatre, church, friends, and other concerns and obligations I have less time to devote to keeping up with the world around me. Compounding the unimpressive content, the commercial interruptions simply make the entire effort less and less worth undertaking. l simply cannot stomach the continued lies, told at louder and louder volume--either in the show or the commercials--and told with such sincerity that you almost want to believe the teller, even though you know that they are telling only what they think people want to hear so that they can keep their job. Discussion has devolved into the soundbyte and pandering, rather than addressing one another, and arguments, with respect. No one can reach a deeper level, toward discourse, because the entire 2-minute exercise devolves into ad hominem attacks (again pandering to those who already agree with the speaker).
I can barely take the local news long enough to get the weather report, and worry that my mute button or alternate channel button will wear out!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment