Ostriching me

[susandennis]

It took me longer than most to give up having newspapers delivered to my door and it's taken me longer than most to give up TV news. But, today's the day. I read a tweet yesterday that some poll reported only old people watch TV news. Well, here's one less old person watching.

It's not the news itself, it's the telling me how I should feel about the news by 20 year olds. I want to find out what happened. I do not want commentary on what happened. I never want to hear tragic or horrific or heart felt or even sad. I will determine how I feel about the facts. I don't want some TV person doing that for me.

And the drama. OMG The hysteria of the delivery of the news makes me want to punch out the delivers. If the drama scale was 1-10 with 1 being BBC, both our local and national news readers would come in on about 25 on a boring day and 250 when things are really happening.

My brother wants a drama dial that he can adjust for news. I think he's on to something.

I'm not sure where I'm going to get those facts from here on out but I know where I'm not going to get them. My TiVo, every night, records 3 different stations of local news and 3 different networks of national news. I don't watch all of it but I do spend about an hour watching bits and pieces of each. I just deleted all of those recording requests. I'm done.

I noodled all of this out while I was swimming this morning. I struggled to come up with anything lately that I'd seen on TV news that I hadn't known before - mostly via Twitter, actually. I see the news on Twitter and then follow links where I want more info so I'm guessing that's where I will get my facts.

I may listen to more NPR but this morning I even turned it off when I kept hearing - oh so dramatically - about tragic, horrific, sad... and not hearing reporting of the incidents that they were commanding I feel sad, horrific and tragic about.

I just deleted about a dozen One Passes on TiVo. All news shows. I'm officially done.

I'm old and I no longer give a shit. I'm actually perfectly ok to live in ignorance. It's a luxury I'm grateful for.

I'm also grateful for a pool nearly to myself today and another day of relatively cool. I need to make some new doll faces today.

I actually do have a short non inside the house list things I'd like to do soonish:

1. fabric store for more face fabric
2. walmart for some cheap knit fabric to test a new pattern with
3. Museum of History and Industry to see the toy exhibit

1 and 2 are probably best done on a weekend together after a swim. Maybe next week. The third one is penciled in for August 4 - first Thursday free day.

I think about leaving the house all the time. I should go here, that would be fun to go there... and I just don't. I do love having the choices, though.

Comments

Network nothing news.

[pink-halen.livejournal.com]

You can tell that old people watch the TV news because of the nature of the advertisements they run. There is a much higher percentage of ads for Pharmaceuticals on the evening news.

Sadly, the content is lacking. They are more likely to promo an upcoming network show than give hard news. They also love the stories with a huge dose of Pathos. You know the kind. Those that are labeled "Heartwarming."

Network news also tends to dish up old news. Many of the top stories I read about 48 hours in advance on the Internet.

We have to realize that Network News is entertainment and not information.

My other peeve is when networks make a "meal" of tragedy. They broadcast for hours about things like the Orlando shoot running they same 2 minutes of video and say nothing new for hours upon end.

In the end, I think you are correct. Very little of it affects our lives and there is very little we can do about it. It just makes us live in fear which is not a good thing.

Re: Network nothing news.

[susandennis]

yup yup and yup

[badrobot68.livejournal.com]

I see breaking news first on Twitter. If something huge happens and I need more info, then I'll turn on MSNBC or something.

[luzclarita.livejournal.com]

I wish the news had a drama dial as well.

[rsc.livejournal.com]

Our household still gets daily newspaper delivery (breakfast doesn't feel right without the newspaper). We have never watched TV news.

I get my "breaking news", if at all, from Facebook, which means keeping a salt-shaker handy.

[rejectomorph]

I never got the TV news habit, and typically have watched TV news only when a disaster happens in my region. I'd like to know if that forest fire is headed in my direction, or the flood is going to wash out any roads I need. And then I don't watch long, because it's like the same few clips are on endless repeat, with the same narration over and over.

That said, I do miss the daily newspaper I can no longer afford. Most of what I read was not front page stuff, but stuff about business and economics, or technology, or the arts, or science. Now I can get that stuff from the Internet, though it's sometimes a pain hunting it down among all crap that piles up.

What I miss most about the newspaper I think is the quiet interrupted only by the sound of pages turning, and the absence of all those embedded links nagging me to get more and more and more information. That, and the fact that I never had a newspaper freeze up on me and refuse to let me open the next page. Damn computer does that way too often.

[silverthief2.livejournal.com]

Much agreed on wishing the newscasters would report news without all the dramatics and I even have a relevant example!

One of our local reporters posted this gem on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MikeTFox5/status/751495627737927680

The 4th fireworks that I apparently have to be "upset" about were lovely and I really enjoyed them, but that's beside the point. All he really needed to say was "Rescheduled Gaithersburg fireworks tonight!" But that would be reporting. ;)