I know it’s good to know and be current with Local, National, and International affairs . . . and I do this mostly through “news feeds” from sources I choose.
I receive “Breaking news” in my in-box from Niche Media News providers . . . real specialists in their chosen discipline.
When a particular story headline catches my attention, I’ll then seek more information through facebook, blog posts, or referenced sources in the initial news feed.
I choose this method of receiving news because:
- It’s more time-expedient for ME
- I can decide for myself what level of drama I bring into my life
- I’m less susceptible to “media bias“
Even with tragic stories such as the recent tragic elementary School massacre in Connecticut, my perception is that many of the mass media sources “try too hard” to show compassion . . . and ultimately end up doing the same old things with each disaster. They have “disaster plans” of their own which seem to be “Rating Driven” – Interviewing survivors and friends and family of survivors and practicing “witch-hunt” tactics to find fault, blame, or negligence on ANYONE’s part that could have been a contributing factor.
Numerous documentaries follow under the guise of “cathartic TV”
The draconian reality is that this entire industry of “Responsible and thorough investigative reporting” very well may be contributing to the mayhem.
I cannot vouch for the authenticity of whether this really came from Morgan Freeman because I saw it on Facebook where sources are often mis-quoted, but:
TURN OFF THE NEWS…….
Morgan Freeman’s brilliant take on what happened yesterday :
“You want to know why. This may sound cynical, but here’s why.
people who would otherwise just off themselves in their basements see the news and want to top it by doing something worse, and going out in a memorable way. Why a grade school? Why children? Because he’ll be remembered as a horrible monster, instead of a sad nobody.CNN’s article says that if the body count “holds up”, this will rank as the second deadliest shooting behind Virginia Tech, as if statistics somehow make one shooting worse than another. Then they post a video interview of third-graders for all the details of what they saw and heard while the shootings were happening. Fox News has plastered the killer’s face on all their reports for hours. Any articles or news stories yet that focus on the victims and ignore the killer’s identity? None that I’ve seen yet. Because they don’t sell. So congratulations, sensationalist media, you’ve just lit the fire for someone to top this and knock off a day care center or a maternity ward next.You can help by forgetting you ever read this man’s name, and remembering the name of at least one victim. You can help by donating to mental health research instead of pointing to gun control as the problem. You can help by turning off the news.”
There are MANY societal “reasons” for this recent increase in mass violence none of which are easy to tackle . . . My only hope is that the mass media might throttle their “reporting gusto” so as not to fuel fires that otherwise would fizzle.
Suffice it to say . . . It’s been a very sad week.
The Holidays are upon us –
Let’s all now focus on the reason for this season
Best,
b
Thank you for TURN OFF THE NEWS
I, also get my news through internet and agree wholeheartedly with your views on the news. Here in my home we have gone without a television for many years and have encountered different times where people say that I need to have tv ; we need to know what’s going on in the world. The bottom line is that I choose what media is fed to me not the other way around.
Jack