Is mainstream news a waste of time to watch?
9-Jan-23 6:39pm
#1 ued222
It isn't very enjoyable to watch. The content is usually filler like murders and other such topics while Youtube and other mediums do it a lot better and in less time. Better off checking articles online. Half the time watching ABC news and the lot, I question why should I care.
#1 ued222
It isn't very enjoyable to watch. The content is usually filler like murders and other such topics while Youtube and other mediums do it a lot better and in less time. Better off checking articles online. Half the time watching ABC news and the lot, I question why should I care.
9-Jan-23 7:06pm
#3 KCPenguins
"The dumbing down of American is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30 second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance"
- Carl Sagan (1995)
Be cautious of your "news" source. Nearly all aren't worth the 10 seconds...
#3 KCPenguins
"The dumbing down of American is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30 second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance"
- Carl Sagan (1995)
Be cautious of your "news" source. Nearly all aren't worth the 10 seconds...
9-Jan-23 7:09pm
#4 theJaw
Know how to perform your own research and don’t depend on “underground” fringe BS either.
#4 theJaw
Know how to perform your own research and don’t depend on “underground” fringe BS either.
9-Jan-23 10:32pm
#5 lpeters82
I typically listen to NPR hourly news while in the shower. It's only a few minutes long and typically seems to cover the highlights / lowlights from the day.
#5 lpeters82
I typically listen to NPR hourly news while in the shower. It's only a few minutes long and typically seems to cover the highlights / lowlights from the day.
10-Jan-23 8:31am
#7 John
My main issue is that I can't find something (as far as news goes) to just have on in the background when I'm getting ready in the morning. I mean, I just want something to get caught up on what is going on in the world -- without too much fluff -- that isn't too biased.
I used to watch HLN in the morning and it wasn't too bad. Got the headlines quickly. Not too much fluff (or, when they had it, the people were watchable most of the time, at least). And didn't seem too biased.
In any case, CNN killed it recently. No more live stuff on HLN.
So, now I'm not sure what to watch where I can just "turn it on in the morning" and leave it go. It isn't a situation where I can read through anything -- I just need a live broadcast of current headlines.
I've switched to ABC for now -- which is Good Morning America in the morning. And if it was just headlines, fine, but there is SO much fluff. Every day recently has been Royal Family crap that I couldn't care much less about...
#7 John
My main issue is that I can't find something (as far as news goes) to just have on in the background when I'm getting ready in the morning. I mean, I just want something to get caught up on what is going on in the world -- without too much fluff -- that isn't too biased.
I used to watch HLN in the morning and it wasn't too bad. Got the headlines quickly. Not too much fluff (or, when they had it, the people were watchable most of the time, at least). And didn't seem too biased.
In any case, CNN killed it recently. No more live stuff on HLN.
So, now I'm not sure what to watch where I can just "turn it on in the morning" and leave it go. It isn't a situation where I can read through anything -- I just need a live broadcast of current headlines.
I've switched to ABC for now -- which is Good Morning America in the morning. And if it was just headlines, fine, but there is SO much fluff. Every day recently has been Royal Family crap that I couldn't care much less about...
10-Jan-23 8:47am
#8 John
theJaw wrote:
Know how to perform your own research and don’t depend on “underground” fringe BS either.
While I agree with this concept in general, I tend to find that most people who go "I do my own research" are so incredibly biased that it isn't funny. Seriously, most of the "I do my own research" people that I've spoken with in person have been anti-vax and/or other conspiracy theorist people. Granted, I get that you added "don't depend on underground fringe BS", but so many of the "do your own research" people don't THINK it is based on "underground fringe BS" either.
So, yes, "do your own research", but I tend to see that as looking at other people's DECENT research. For example, when trying to find less biased news sources, I tend to look at something like the AllSides Media Bias charts (the U of Central Oaklahoma one is decent also). No one wants to admit that their media source is biased. So, relying on the research of others often makes more sense -- provided that the "others" have been fairly well vetted.
#8 John
theJaw wrote:
Know how to perform your own research and don’t depend on “underground” fringe BS either.
While I agree with this concept in general, I tend to find that most people who go "I do my own research" are so incredibly biased that it isn't funny. Seriously, most of the "I do my own research" people that I've spoken with in person have been anti-vax and/or other conspiracy theorist people. Granted, I get that you added "don't depend on underground fringe BS", but so many of the "do your own research" people don't THINK it is based on "underground fringe BS" either.
So, yes, "do your own research", but I tend to see that as looking at other people's DECENT research. For example, when trying to find less biased news sources, I tend to look at something like the AllSides Media Bias charts (the U of Central Oaklahoma one is decent also). No one wants to admit that their media source is biased. So, relying on the research of others often makes more sense -- provided that the "others" have been fairly well vetted.
10-Jan-23 9:01am
#9 Scott
It doesn't even have to be as extreme as anti-vax or conspiracy theories. In my experience, most of the "I do my own research" people just follow a bunch of far right/left political figures/Facebook pages/etc that are all extremely biased. Their research is just reading everything these people/pages post and accepting it as fact.
#9 Scott
It doesn't even have to be as extreme as anti-vax or conspiracy theories. In my experience, most of the "I do my own research" people just follow a bunch of far right/left political figures/Facebook pages/etc that are all extremely biased. Their research is just reading everything these people/pages post and accepting it as fact.
10-Jan-23 9:14am
#10 Y2k
I tend to skim through news sites during my morning coffee. I find it somewhat useful for local news, sports, entertainment, and random global information...excluding basically anything political.
#10 Y2k
I tend to skim through news sites during my morning coffee. I find it somewhat useful for local news, sports, entertainment, and random global information...excluding basically anything political.
10-Jan-23 9:19am
#11 sa330206
I like going around to various sites I know are leaning left and leaning right to see the difference. A lot of times you would think you are living on two different worlds. Both sides report their stories with a spin by omitting key info that goes against the message they are trying to push. Unless there is something very very major going on, the left and right have completely different headlines.
#11 sa330206
I like going around to various sites I know are leaning left and leaning right to see the difference. A lot of times you would think you are living on two different worlds. Both sides report their stories with a spin by omitting key info that goes against the message they are trying to push. Unless there is something very very major going on, the left and right have completely different headlines.
10-Jan-23 10:00am
#12 theJaw
@John "Do your own research" doesn't mean "make up your own crap" or "rely on a political standing". As you suggested, part of researching IS relying on other people's "DECENT research", because some people are smarter than us - OR other people's research/experiences add to helpful statistics. I would never suggest otherwise, because finding information from other people literally IS part of one doing their own research. My point was that folks should know their sources and where their information is coming from, and then form an opinion from that. Don't rely on outlier fringe garbage, or the news that caters directly to your own sensibilities, if the news story in question isn't one you want to hear (or even if it is). Do the research.
Two independent thoughts: Do your own research. Don't depend on fringe bullcrap. Differentiate the two, and the person doing so will have a leg up. We're arguing the same thing here - don't depend on fringe outliers and DO RESEARCH, the way you do with the website you touted.
#12 theJaw
@John "Do your own research" doesn't mean "make up your own crap" or "rely on a political standing". As you suggested, part of researching IS relying on other people's "DECENT research", because some people are smarter than us - OR other people's research/experiences add to helpful statistics. I would never suggest otherwise, because finding information from other people literally IS part of one doing their own research. My point was that folks should know their sources and where their information is coming from, and then form an opinion from that. Don't rely on outlier fringe garbage, or the news that caters directly to your own sensibilities, if the news story in question isn't one you want to hear (or even if it is). Do the research.
Two independent thoughts: Do your own research. Don't depend on fringe bullcrap. Differentiate the two, and the person doing so will have a leg up. We're arguing the same thing here - don't depend on fringe outliers and DO RESEARCH, the way you do with the website you touted.
10-Jan-23 10:40am
#13 theJaw
Scott wrote:
It doesn't even have to be as extreme as anti-vax or conspiracy theories. In my experience, most of the "I do my own research" people just follow a bunch of far right/left political figures/Facebook pages/etc that are all extremely biased. Their research is just reading everything these people/pages post and accepting it as fact.
To be fair, these are examples of people who don't ACTUALLY do their own research and rely on fringe bullcrap that caters to what they want to hear, which is what I was suggesting one not do initially. The phrase "do your own research" shouldn't be scoffed at solely because some folks claim to without actually doing so. It's still valid to suggest people look into things for themselves if they're doing so in earnest.
#13 theJaw
Scott wrote:
It doesn't even have to be as extreme as anti-vax or conspiracy theories. In my experience, most of the "I do my own research" people just follow a bunch of far right/left political figures/Facebook pages/etc that are all extremely biased. Their research is just reading everything these people/pages post and accepting it as fact.
To be fair, these are examples of people who don't ACTUALLY do their own research and rely on fringe bullcrap that caters to what they want to hear, which is what I was suggesting one not do initially. The phrase "do your own research" shouldn't be scoffed at solely because some folks claim to without actually doing so. It's still valid to suggest people look into things for themselves if they're doing so in earnest.
10-Jan-23 10:45am
#14 Scott
Yeah. My post wasn't meant to be against what you said. I agree that people should do their own research, but still believe that most who say they do, really aren't.
#14 Scott
Yeah. My post wasn't meant to be against what you said. I agree that people should do their own research, but still believe that most who say they do, really aren't.
10-Jan-23 10:50am
#15 John
theJaw wrote:
@John "Do your own research" doesn't mean "make up your own crap" or "rely on a political standing". As you suggested, part of researching IS relying on other people's "DECENT research", because some people are smarter than us - OR other people's research/experiences add to helpful statistics. I would never suggest otherwise, because finding information from other people literally IS part of one doing their own research. My point was that folks should know their sources and where their information is coming from, and then form an opinion from that. Don't rely on outlier fringe garbage, or the news that caters directly to your own sensibilities, if the news story in question isn't one you want to hear (or even if it is). Do the research.
Yes, I know. Relax. I didn't mean you in particular. It's just a common thing for the far-right or far-left nutballs to go "DO yOuR oWn ReSeaRcH!!*&!&^!*!".
We're arguing the same thing here - don't depend on fringe outliers and DO RESEARCH, the way you do with the website you touted.
Yes, I know. I'm not sure you knew.
#15 John
theJaw wrote:
@John "Do your own research" doesn't mean "make up your own crap" or "rely on a political standing". As you suggested, part of researching IS relying on other people's "DECENT research", because some people are smarter than us - OR other people's research/experiences add to helpful statistics. I would never suggest otherwise, because finding information from other people literally IS part of one doing their own research. My point was that folks should know their sources and where their information is coming from, and then form an opinion from that. Don't rely on outlier fringe garbage, or the news that caters directly to your own sensibilities, if the news story in question isn't one you want to hear (or even if it is). Do the research.
Yes, I know. Relax. I didn't mean you in particular. It's just a common thing for the far-right or far-left nutballs to go "DO yOuR oWn ReSeaRcH!!*&!&^!*!".
We're arguing the same thing here - don't depend on fringe outliers and DO RESEARCH, the way you do with the website you touted.
Yes, I know. I'm not sure you knew.
10-Jan-23 10:51am
#16 theJaw
@Scott Yah I mean, can't dispute that unfortunately.
@John I'm relaxed...? I typed roughly as much as you did, but whatev. I knew, don't you worry!
#16 theJaw
@Scott Yah I mean, can't dispute that unfortunately.
@John I'm relaxed...? I typed roughly as much as you did, but whatev. I knew, don't you worry!
10-Jan-23 10:56am
#17 John
It's fine. I thought you were defending yourself when I didn't mean it that way. Your reply directly to me started off with:
Um, yes, of course. If you knew that we were both "arguing the same thing", then you wouldn't feel the need to explain that to me. Because it was indeed the same thing that I agree with already.
Sorry for any confusion there. Not a big deal.
#17 John
It's fine. I thought you were defending yourself when I didn't mean it that way. Your reply directly to me started off with:
| "Do your own research" doesn't mean "make up your own crap" or "rely on a political standing" |
Um, yes, of course. If you knew that we were both "arguing the same thing", then you wouldn't feel the need to explain that to me. Because it was indeed the same thing that I agree with already.
Sorry for any confusion there. Not a big deal.
10-Jan-23 11:01am
#18 theJaw
Not necessarily defending myself, just making myself more clear because your reply directly to ME seemed to misconstrue my point, but that may have been user error on my part. Hence the "we're arguing the same thing" line to ensure you that we were on the same page. But not a big deal indeed, world keeps on a-turnin'.
#18 theJaw
Not necessarily defending myself, just making myself more clear because your reply directly to ME seemed to misconstrue my point, but that may have been user error on my part. Hence the "we're arguing the same thing" line to ensure you that we were on the same page. But not a big deal indeed, world keeps on a-turnin'.
10-Jan-23 11:32pm
#19 Foxhack
John wrote:
My main issue is that I can't find something (as far as news goes) to just have on in the background when I'm getting ready in the morning. I mean, I just want something to get caught up on what is going on in the world -- without too much fluff -- that isn't too biased.
Do you have any local news channels? Down here we have a couple of TV channels that livestream the news in the morning, then repeat it over the course of the day, switching to the latest newscast whenever it comes out. Just make sure the station isn't owned by a company that forces local newscasters to air crap.
#19 Foxhack
John wrote:
My main issue is that I can't find something (as far as news goes) to just have on in the background when I'm getting ready in the morning. I mean, I just want something to get caught up on what is going on in the world -- without too much fluff -- that isn't too biased.
Do you have any local news channels? Down here we have a couple of TV channels that livestream the news in the morning, then repeat it over the course of the day, switching to the latest newscast whenever it comes out. Just make sure the station isn't owned by a company that forces local newscasters to air crap.
11-Jan-23 6:40am
#20 bill
I stopped watching the evening news 6+ years ago. I mostly don't look at news websites either.
I am somewhat uninformed, but it's basically impossible not to hear about news from other people or from the few websites I do check once a week.
I use Wikipedia fairly often (mostly just random stuff I'm curious about). So, I may go read about a recent event there if I'm curious. Wikipedia has a recent events page that I check weekly as well.
I think it's better for my mental health. Or, more precisely, my inner thoughts are less polluted with various stressful narratives that mostly don't actually matter that much.
It's fine. I prefer it. Your mileage may vary. I'm sure it's not for everyone, just thought I'd mention it.
#20 bill
I stopped watching the evening news 6+ years ago. I mostly don't look at news websites either.
I am somewhat uninformed, but it's basically impossible not to hear about news from other people or from the few websites I do check once a week.
I use Wikipedia fairly often (mostly just random stuff I'm curious about). So, I may go read about a recent event there if I'm curious. Wikipedia has a recent events page that I check weekly as well.
I think it's better for my mental health. Or, more precisely, my inner thoughts are less polluted with various stressful narratives that mostly don't actually matter that much.
It's fine. I prefer it. Your mileage may vary. I'm sure it's not for everyone, just thought I'd mention it.
11-Jan-23 8:23am
#21 benstylus
I do like using Google News to scan headlines every day or two.
I like it because you can tell it not to show the ultra-biased sites, the crap "gotcha" stories, sites I have zero interest in, etc. So no Fox News/National Review no Vox/Huffpost, no crapty celebrity gossip sites, and so on.
The only downside is even for sites with content that I might occasionally enjoy, some of them often post really obvious/terrible clickbait headlines that are in no way news (something like "I'm a middle aged mom, and I wore Axe body spray for two months to see what it was like" or "Tiktok trend has people shoving cans of pringles up their butts. We've tried it with Lays Stax and here's the difference") or the actual story is literally a sentence long but they want you to click to their site for that sentence when they could just has easily have provided it in the headline (something like "New Zelda game release date finally announced." It's May 12. It takes less time to type that than the word announced. I get you want clicks so people see your ads but C'MON).
Some of the best actual news stories I've read recently have from Al-Jazeera.
#21 benstylus
I do like using Google News to scan headlines every day or two.
I like it because you can tell it not to show the ultra-biased sites, the crap "gotcha" stories, sites I have zero interest in, etc. So no Fox News/National Review no Vox/Huffpost, no crapty celebrity gossip sites, and so on.
The only downside is even for sites with content that I might occasionally enjoy, some of them often post really obvious/terrible clickbait headlines that are in no way news (something like "I'm a middle aged mom, and I wore Axe body spray for two months to see what it was like" or "Tiktok trend has people shoving cans of pringles up their butts. We've tried it with Lays Stax and here's the difference") or the actual story is literally a sentence long but they want you to click to their site for that sentence when they could just has easily have provided it in the headline (something like "New Zelda game release date finally announced." It's May 12. It takes less time to type that than the word announced. I get you want clicks so people see your ads but C'MON).
Some of the best actual news stories I've read recently have from Al-Jazeera.
Is mainstream news a waste of time to watch?