Life With….

Do you ever feel so bombarded with news that you honestly can’t digest it anymore? I know that I do.  I also worry it makes me, and others ruder.  Maybe we all yell because the TV hosts screams  over each other. If we aren’t teaching civility and those in positions of authority aren’t acting as role models it is no wonder we act the way we do; news is not entertainment and seeing Glenn Beck or Chris Matthews demeans me, the news,  their own points and the politicians  and experts who are on thier show trying to explain issues.

I hate soundbites, and have written but not done a thing with whole diatribes about the dumbing down of human being due to the 24 hour news cycle. I could probably add to that list the fact that there are shows devoted to politics and news that are based on soundbites and yelling (see Rachel Maddow who rarely admits that any view point but her own may be sane or that people can believe opposite her in good faith and rude to those who disagree, Keith Olbermann who is condescending, Glenn Beck who uses scare words to drum up support without offering fact, Anderson Cooper who turns all stories to fluff, and the like).

Given this I try to rely on media sources that are either reputable and when biased I can see their bias, and that attempt to give me access to the real document their report is based off of. That is why I like to read newspapers online (especially the New York Times),  listen to NPR and read the New Yorker and the economistt, slate.com, the daily beast, and the BBC;. These places often go in depth on their issues and what keeps drawing me back is they report broadly on the arts, books, and theater as well. I have to admit though, I also love Morning Joe on MSNBC. Finlay I try to listen to Potus for the morning briefing and the press pool – I sometimes can’t stand their call in talk show as the host is often only quasi-informed about the issues he is discussing and he can’t overcome his own biases, but he often gets informative guests so its a toss up. What I love about Potus is that it provides almost every national press briefing live and uncut so that you can truly hear what was said and judge for yourself rather then just hear the soundbites.

Lately though my brain can’t take reading more than two pages on the Internet. It’s as if going out of my way to get information has caused me to in fact lessen my interest. Most mornings I skim the paper for headlines – revert back to it the Internet sites throughout the day, and may read an article or tow – usually on arts or culture. Sadly, I still feel better informed than most people.

It maybe that right now I feel we are reporting on what may potentially happen – where the health care reform bills or Afghanistan may wind up; or we are reporting on tragedies or non-news. It may simply be that I am fried. But often I feel that much of what is out there on a daily basis is simply noise to fill space – guesses, or reports on reports, reviews of fringe lunatics, and politicians only spouting talking points.

It is a scary thought that soundbites have wormed into my life.  I can’t speak to most members of my family or close friends without some discussion of politics and the issue of the day. I have observed though in myself and others that many times when people don’t know the issue they spout the talking heads points. Thus everyone remains stuck in their wold view unless someone has truly gone in depth and can clarify things – at which point I hope all would be edified. This happens less frequently then I wish – and almost never when watching television news.

I don’t really know what this says about me, others, or if it says something profound about today. All I know for sure is that if people don’t know the issue or are only going to spout talking points they should not be called reporters, and their stories should be ignored. If they are all going to cover and the same stories and ignore the same stories it is not good for the people, the country, and the culture.

Jon Stewart on CNN and Stupidity.

As a postscript; I was not going to post this after seeing pay it forward in real life.  Then my interview got postponed and there was a bad talking points interview on the radio and here it goes up again.  Apologies.  Off to go carve a pumpkin.

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Create Your Badge  All text and copyrights preserved by the author for words and original pictures and may not be used without author's permission. For more information visit http://www.peebesalgy.com Follow me on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/peebesalgy or contact me directly through http://www.peebesalgy.com/blog/contact-me/ Courtney Brown | Create Your Badge