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I've stopped watching the news

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by RecoveringJournalist, Dec 1, 2014.

  1. RecoveringJournalist

    RecoveringJournalist Well-Known Member

    This may sound strange coming from a former journalist, but a couple months ago, I completely stopped watching the news.

    It was September or so and it was getting depressing with election coverage and even when it wasn't something like that it was always, "kidnapping, murder..." everything was so negative. I didn't want it on when my kids were in the room and I found that I kind of liked not having it on.

    It's not a political issue. Even if I start to think one channel is slanted, if I turn it to the station that is slanted toward the way that I usually vote, I would get equally pissed watching that channel because they're trying to get you riled up.

    I still read Google News, so it's not like I have no idea what's going on. But I noticed as all of the Ferguson stuff was happening how depressed or riled up people are, and while I'm sure that's justified, I don't feel like I need any of that.

    I'm not suggesting anybody else do what I'm doing. It sort of happened by accident, but it seems to have made a difference. Who needs that kind of negativity? Even when there isn't some kind of monumental case like Ferguson, it seems like 95 percent of what is out there is completely negative.

    I don't think news via the Internet or newspapers is as bad. But TV news is just draining as hell.
     
  2. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    This was a new development about 40 years ago.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_%28film%29
     
  3. Mr. Sunshine

    Mr. Sunshine Well-Known Member

    I haven't regularly watched the "news" in years, but I'm surrounded by it daily. Of course, now that I'm on news side and all my work is done by 6, I have extra time to make use of alternate news sources.
     
  4. Riptide

    Riptide Well-Known Member

    I stopped watching TV news 20 years ago.
    Local TV news is the worst. It's there just to shock and titillate.
     
  5. If you start posting links to Slate articles we are going to have an Intervention.
     
  6. RecoveringJournalist

    RecoveringJournalist Well-Known Member

    I don't think there is any chance of that happening.
     
  7. MisterCreosote

    MisterCreosote Well-Known Member

    The news side only covers important things once a year anyway. /baron
     
  8. Captain_Kirk

    Captain_Kirk Well-Known Member

    I'll watch the cable news channels for the mega-news stories--elections, major events, catastrophes.

    Only time I can recall watching the local news here in eons was during last winter's Snowmaggedon.

    The internet is much more timely and in depth than any 30 minute local or national newscast can offer.
     
  9. MisterCreosote

    MisterCreosote Well-Known Member

    Where I live, snowstorms are when teevee news is at its absolute worst.
     
  10. heyabbott

    heyabbott Well-Known Member

    NWS, Weather Channel and the channel that shows the radar killed local news for me.
    Cable News is a joke.

    Everynow and then I'll watch CNN International, but its not HD so I rarely venture on those channels.
     
  11. RecoveringJournalist

    RecoveringJournalist Well-Known Member

    Even weather has become a joke on the local news. There is a tiny part of the viewership in an area that gets a ton of snow, so if I'm watching TV, it's not uncommon to hear, "A foot of snow expected overnight" and if you watch, you realize that only applies to the smallest percentage of the viewership, and 99 percent of the people watching are going to get 1-2 inches."
     
  12. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    I can't do local TV news either. I'm in a PR job where we're always wooing local TV, but that doesn't mean I have to watch it.

    I DVR the NBC Nightly News 'cause I feel they do the best job out of the big boys and sometimes I just need the video fix for stories like the Buffalo snow.
     
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