What an utter waste this whole talk of former Representative Massa's "snorkeling" and "tickle fights" has been. Who gives a flying fart, really? Why are the news networks making such a big deal of this? It's pure foolishness. What a waste of airtime. News has largely become gossip. Is this really what viewers want?
I agree with Representative Kennedy.
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What are your thoughts?
10 comments:
I totally agree with you Judith, and when I saw Rep Kennedy on TV tonight I almost jumped up and shouted "right on!"
The media has long since abandoned the real news in favor of "entertainment." But, I do have to wonder if that is not what our current society is really looking for. Maybe that is why PBS news programs have much lower viewer counts than the others who are more "entertaining"?
There are some very pressing issues facing our country right now and we could certainly use a little more real news and a lot less tabloid news.
Right on, Bob! It seems to me that we like to talk a lot about freedom and independence but aren't most people followers? It's like the "build it and they will come" philosophy. People en masse will generally take what is given until they simply can't take it anymore. Network news has built tabloid journalism and people are coming to it. Network news is not only competing among themselves but they are competing for ratings with real entertainment shows. Why is this? It's about capital. Very little, as Liz Cheney continues to show us, is sacred and everything is about attaining more and more capital. This is flawed thinking. As a culture, we have to look at this.
In the 1950's, TV networks got a bad name because of the quiz show scandals. In order to fix their image, TV networks decided to build up their news divisions and make them hight reputable. At the time, the networks were making a lot of money, and so, even though the news did not make money, they felt the prestige a good news division was a good investment. The money is no longer there. Also, the right wing has made a lot of headway with its argument that networks are biased. This cuts into the prestige element . As a result, news becomes more and more like entertainment. People want the news to only report facts they agree with. In other words, people don't want news. For example, the other day I was in a discussion about global warming. The discussion turned to this past winter, which was cold in the United States. This seemed to refute the idea of global warming. I pointed out that CNN had reported that the moth of January was one of the warmest on record - as far as the whole world was concerned. I was told that I should not accept the source of this - "after all, it was CNN". The CNN report was based on NASA satellite data, but of course "all NASA scientists are biased".
Wow, Zorro! It doesn't sound like the person with whom you were discussing global warming had an open mind if he wouldn't accept that CNN reported the findings of NASA. Your situation was sorta like during the health care debate when the CBO was mentioned and a Republican Congressman wanted to denigrate this non-biased budget office because the findings agreed with President Obama. This was a disgrace and was sharply criticized. He had to recant. I was very happy that it was addressed immediately and not allowed to create doubt in the minds of the general public who were watching live. This was obvious the desire. I was also happy to see Republicans sharply criticizing Liz Cheney for her outrageous comments about the Justice Department lawyers. Thanks for the bit of history lesson. It seems very plausible indeed. I'll do a bit of research. I included this post on my facebook page and a friend sent me this link. Here is what actually happens behind the scenes. Thanks for your comment, Zorro. I love it when you've been here.
Here is a good david brroks article
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/opinion/12brooks.html?ref=opinion
Thank you, Zorro. Someone else sent it to me when I was at the gym this morning. I will read it. Thanks again for keeping me up to speed. :-) The fact that you share these links are appreciated.
Yep, Brooks got it right this time. As he doesn't always agree with President Obama, I do not always agree with him. But he is usually thoughtful and rational and this is admirable.
Zorro - I you have not come across this article in The New Yorker on Paul Krugman, here it is: The Deflationist. I think you will enjoy it.
Good article on Krugman. It was interesting to read about the development of his political views. I had always thought he was a diehard liberal. For example, I figured he had big problems with Reagan from day one. But Krugman didn't have strong views until he had done some research for a book.
Yeah, that was indeed interesting to discover about how he ventured into politics. I love his apparent modesty and honest living in conjunction with his writing. Good for him and his wife. I also enjoyed the article and thought that you might too. You often refer us here to thoughtful articles Krugman and others have written. Thanks!
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