Once favorite "news" channel has faded into irrelevance...

[Tilikum Turbo]

Not naming the channel(s), but anyone else notice how conspiracy theories, Kim Kardashian, and toxic-spewing hatred about Liberals and Conservatives has become
"news"?

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by Tilikum Turbo

Not naming the channel(s), but anyone else notice how conspiracy theories, Kim Kardashian, and toxic-spewing hatred about Liberals and Conservatives has become
"news"?

You must have just stepped out of a time machine?

The "news" programs have been nothing but sensationalist and propaganda for over a decade.

My wife opines the we don't watch the "news" to stay "informed" however IMHO "new" programing only exists to stroke the ego of whatever political party they have aligned with.

Maybe there is hope for newspapers after all...

[HardDrive]

I haven't watched TV 'news' in years. It's not news.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Cable News, talk radio, internet are just another flavor of reality TV and soap operas. Folks love the narratives.

[cockerpunk]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cfwsfGqgPM

[jyl]

Yes, TV "news" is mostly entertainment and preaching to the choir. I don't watch it. I think it makes you less informed, not more. Instead of an hour watching mouth-foaming ideologues bait each other, spend 1/2 hour reading a quality newspaper or newsmagazine (NYT WSJ WaPo Economist etc), which you can do online.

Exceptions, I think, are a few networks like BBC, Al Jazeera; a few specific news shows; and when you want 24-hour coverage of some "breaking story".

[varmint]

Originally Posted by jyl

NYT WSJ WaPo Economist, BBC, Al Jazeera

bwahahahahah

[Baz]

Ibtm........

[BE911SC]

I blame O.J. Simpson. Without him, CNN may have, just maybe, stayed a teeny bit relevant for a short time longer.

The moment network suits (CBS, NBC, ABC) required their news departments to start generating ratings/advertising revenue 'real' news reporting was doomed. They then closed their overseas bureaus and farmed out actual news gathering. Profits went up and quality went down. CNN came along and seemed to have an air of gravitas and quality but it too has collapsed under the weight of demand for ratings (drama) and ad revenue.

[dw1]

Remember the movie "Network" ?

Paddy Chayefsky & Sidney Lumet got it right about the future (back then) of news programs.

Network (1976) movie trailer - YouTube

Network - Mad as Hell Scene - YouTube

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I blame Howard Stern. Everything we have today is just the evolution of shockjock radio with a political spin instead of teen boy culture. People love it.

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by shaun 84 targa

i blame rush limbaugh. Everything we have today is just the evolution of shockjock radio with a political spin instead of teen boy culture. People love it.

fify

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Rush was just an early adopter/adapter of Stern's schtick. It's funny to me that Rush has a team that reads the newspapers, watches real news, picks out stories of interest, and spins them into narrative to service his listeners/customer all the while disparaging the very news sources where he gets his raw goods.

Absolutely brilliant really.

[Baz]

They're all just a bunch of talking heads......but like you said, Shaun....folks love the narrative! Drinking that Kool-Aid down........like it was going out of style!

Foxpaws got it right when she said we get the government we deserve. Same with the media!

[Chocaholic]

"She can tell you about the plane crash with a gleam in her eye" - Don Henley (I think).

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa

Rush was just an early adopter/adapter of Stern's schtick. It's funny to me that Rush has a team that reads the newspapers, watches real news, picks out stories of interest, and spins them into narrative to service his listeners/customer all the while disparaging the very news sources where he gets his raw goods.

Absolutely brilliant really.

You have it backwards. Mr Limbaugh predates Mr Stern by quite some time. Mr Limbaugh ripped off Morton Downey Jr, who ripped off Joe Pyne.

I thought you were hip to all this info.

[Baz]

[wdfifteen]

It costs a lot of money to send real reporters out to find facts. It's much cheaper to sit some narcissistic blowhard down in a studio and have him give his opinion. That's the reason we have so many "news" shows with so little news. It's also the reason we have so much "reality" programming. Cheap to produce and the masses eat it up.

[cockerpunk]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

It costs a lot of money to send real reporters out to find facts. It's much cheaper to sit some narcissistic blowhard down in a studio and have him give his opinion. That's the reason we have so many "news" shows with so little news. It's also the reason we have so much "reality" programming. Cheap to produce and the masses eat it up.

its gotten even easier, as now they just read tweets on almost every news segment.

"now, we go to what you guys think, with our new segment #whattwitterthinks

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by cockerpunk

"now, we go to what you guys think, with our new segment #whattwitterthinks

Oh yes! I forgot about that! CNN tells you the news and then asks you to tweet what you think. It's like instant feedback for how successfully they are manipulating people. They report, "Flight 370 was way off track and under the control of aliens," about 50 times and then ask, "Do you think flight 370 was under the control of aliens? Tweet your answer." It's like Fox's habit of repeating some sketchy information for a couple of days and then starting to act as if it were established fact, only CNN needs to be reassured they are brainwashing people and Fox is more confident.