ADN

So I turn on my TV to check the news and see what's going on in the world while I eat. And what do I see?.....

BREAKING NEWS:
Lindsay Lohan has relapsed and is seeking medical treatment.

:?: :curse: :think:

Then they go to see what the "A-list" thinks about it. They have this 15 minute spread at least about this girl.

Now I know that Celebrity news is plastered all over magazines and all over some of the more cheesy channels. Especially on E-TV or whatever........but WTF?? ON CNN and MSNBC??

I literally despise the news...Its rarely really informative and obviously has its own agenda...I couldn't care less, and find it insulting most of the time...

My thoughts exactly. I regularly find myself becoming outraged at the drivel and the bullshit that's served up as "news", and I don't think the majority of newspapers are any better either. But what angers me more are the masses who buy it, because they perpetuate it...like they just can't see how Rupert Murdoch et al are making their fortunes by taking their readers for a bunch of fuckwits.

Maybe it's their way to appeal to a younger crowd or maybe they are trying to get more people to watch. However, they are losing me and several other of my friends who range in age from 19 to 31.

It's just ridiculous that "news" in the middle of the day when most people watch on their lunch break is about some strung out crack whore in Hollywood. :roll:

Try these. You will not find any "Entertainment" news here

http://www.democracynow.org/

http://www.fsrn.org/

Übermensch wrote:I literally despise the news...Its rarely really informative and obviously has its own agenda...I couldn't care less, and find it insulting most of the time...

schmicko wrote:My thoughts exactly. I regularly find myself becoming outraged at the drivel and the bullshit that's served up as "news", and I don't think the majority of newspapers are any better either.

i agree with both you fellas. for the most part i've been on a "news" (commercial radio too) blackout for the past 5 years due to the state of things. if i want a fix of news i'll check SBS or Australia's ABC public channels. or Reuters via the net. all this agenda is fucking pathetic. Murdoch,Packer & their cronies appointing themselves tastemakers disgusts me. butt not more than the huge amount of fucktards out there who have succumbed to them. just tragic.
we are not far now from the way things were in The Running Man. Climbing For Dollars will be a tv staple soon as will kids drinking Cadre Cola.

It's been a while since I sat down to watch the news. I'm really not interested in the latest Hollywood gossip, or the latest white person to get kidnapped in some foreign country *no offense to anybody*

Übermensch wrote:I literally despise the news...Its rarely really informative and obviously has its own agenda...I couldn't care less, and find it insulting most of the time...

I'm always puzzled by accusations that the news has some "agenda" (usually said by conservatives accusing the media of "liberal" bias). The news is, pretty evidently, a business, and one which gives the public more or less what they want. Good journalists do want to do investigative reporting on budgets and health care -- but a Lohan story costs zero, and its what the public wants to see.

My two cents' worth is that we live in a remarkable time, when there's more information available to the average citizen than at any previous time in history.

You don't like CNN's coverage of Iraq?

Then read Petraeus' manual:
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fm3-24.pdf
(quite insightful, and a good guide to what he's trying to do in Iraq)

or

the military blogs at:
http://www.military.com/blog

I'm tired of Iraq news...And they rarely tell the real story anyways...My 1st cousin has done 2 tours in Iraq, I'd much rather hear his stories than the ones I hear on the news...It's shameful for me to think that I was grateful he was able to make it to my New Year's party, when the reality is that he could have easily been a statistic...

but a Lohan story costs zero, and its what the public wants to see.

See, that's where that insulting part comes in...What public..? Why do I care...No, why would ANYONE care whether or not Lindsay Lohan is completing her rehab..? Unless you're holding stock in the movie studios she's expected to perform in, what difference does it make..? You shouldn't be puzzled by people saying news has an agenda, its pretty much just an observation...I would rather read or hear about a story that tells of the triumphs of humanity, rather than focus so much on its failures...Terrell Owens makes a questionable sound byte, and its all over the news, but how many people do you think know he's an accomplished author of children's books..?

Turn on the local news...Top story is almost always negative...I damn near know more about Britney and her shit than I do my own...I think the news is wrong is assuming that people want to hear about that sensationalist crap...And if they do, they can watch it on E!, and not CNN...

Übermensch wrote:

but a Lohan story costs zero, and its what the public wants to see.

See, that's where that insulting part comes in...What public..? Why do I care...No, why would ANYONE care whether or not Lindsay Lohan is completing her rehab..?

Its not really a "why" question for the station news director. He gets his Arbitron and Neilson ratings, and they tell him what the public does. People may say that they want a complex investigation of mortgage finance or solar power, but they actually watch T&A. FWIW, radio is significantly less affected than TV, 'cuz you can't see hot chicks on radio. Even so, guys like Howard Stern make a living talking about hot chicks . . .

Übermensch wrote: Turn on the local news...Top story is almost always negative...I damn near know more about Britney and her shit than I do my own...I think the news is wrong is assuming that people want to hear about that sensationalist crap...And if they do, they can watch it on E!, and not CNN...

Crime has always sold. There's also no "story" to tell about generic happiness. If a bridge collapses, that's news. If it doesn't-- what kind of story is that? "Today, the Bridge over I-40 at Williams Creek did not collapse, no one was injured, and everyone got home safely". That's not a news story.

Local news does have "good news" stories, most notably whenever a panda in your local zoo is expecting. . .

In Iraq, there were plenty of "good news" reports. The problem was that they didn't really match the reality of what was happening there.