Media in America today

[wolfwill23]

I am a news junkie. However, as of late I'm trying to ween myself off the cnn.com, foxnews.com and msnbc.com, as well as the their respective television stations. Why am I tuning out?

I am tuning out because these stations sell one thing, FEAR. Yes, we live in a scary time but you know what, I don't want to be reminded of that every single fu**in' time I turn on the TV or go on line. I understand why the news stations 'sell' fear. If the viewers are afraid of some terrorist attack, what are they going to do? They're going to tune in to get the latest info on shops that sell duct tape. Here are some things I think the news stations should do to clean up their acts.

1. Stop running Bin Laden tapes. He wants to kill us, so what? 'Kill the infidels, kill the Jews, blah, blah, blah.' It's old news. Airing the messages of his tapes NEVER shed any new light on the War on Terror (except for the CIA to say that he's alive-which should not be news to anybody, especially the CIA). The airing of these messages serve no purpose other than to scare the daylights out of viewers so they'll tune in to see what they can do to save their families from a terrorist attack. Stop the tapes, they're not even newsworthy at this point.

2. Lose the terror alert color code symbol that is ALWAYS on the screen (except during commercials, of course.) I don't know if CNN has this thing up all the time, but FOX News NEVER takes it off the screen, especially when we're on a heightened state of alert. If there's a change in the terror alert level, then put it up for a bit. But after some time, take the friggin' thing down. My sister-in-law is European and she gets scared to death every time she sees it.

3. Run some POSITIVE STORIES. I know this is a stretch, but bare with me here. There's so much f**ckin' death and destruction in the world today, how about some nice stories (and please, save the stupid animal stories, let's focus on HUMAN BEINGS.) I am sure that there are probably 100 kind acts that go unnoticed everyday and are newsworthy for every single bus bombing, terrorist act, or murder. Since when did we as a society develop this appetite for only negative news? Let's see how some people are changing other people's lives for the better. (I'm sure one reason why you don't see more positive human interest stories is because it's cheaper to just take some scary story off the wire and report about it as opposed to sending a reporter into the field with a camera operator to shoot and edit a nice piece.)

So, there you have it. I will now get off my soapbox. Any thoughts on this?

 

[theSoulfulMofo]

ZooTV is as relevant as ever.

I want my ZooTV.

 

[Katey]

Nice post...

Media these days is all about what sells.. Unfortuntely what sells these days more then a good hearted story .. is you guessed it all the bad in the world and everything that goes along with it.

I am with you on seeing the stories about humanitarian and all the good things people do in society today.. I think it would make us less angry as a society as a whole to read about the happiness every once in a while .. Not to hide our head in the sand as to what is happening with the war on terror etc.. but to be reminded of the goodness in the world as well.. it's not all doom and gloom.

But lets not forget how the media to is controlled , we only get to hear or see what is relevant and yes what sells newspapers. It is a buisness.. there will always come into play the economics of how stories are chosenand how issues are framed.. just how as it is said propgandistic our mass media is.. we just need to learn to see that and know the differnce between that and truth.

 

[Salome]

if I'm not mistaken they have made it a policy over here to have at least 1 "positive" item in every news broadcast

can't say that really works for me though

 

[Angela Harlem]

Same here, though I don't know if it's policy...but there is only so much saving a kitten from a burning house/stuck in a drain, or us slaughtering (or getting slaughtered ) in the cricket you can stomach.

 

[Pearl]

I guess the news just wants sensation. Each station and news program wants the highest ratings, and they'll use hype and sensation to keep you interested, which obviously doesn't work for everybody

What annoys me about the media is that it overkills on a lot of stories, even if it is important (terrorism) or fascinating (Mars). The same three stories are repeating all day on the three news stations as if we need our memories refreshed every hour. I also don't like it that sometimes the stations look like Entertainment Tonight by talking about celebrities like those people are more important than what's happening in the world.

Whether its propaganda or policy, I don't know. But when I watch an international station or program, it makes me wonder why American news doesn't report on a lot of events happening in the world, no matter how plain it is or if it doesn't even effect us much. I like the simple stories about places that don't get much media attention, like the effects of tourism in Malta or flag-displaying issues in Latvia. I like those stories. You get to know about the world you live in without the media focusing on all the negativity happening in other parts in the world.

I also would like to see positive stories, just to make the world seem brighter, and take away the monotony of the same stories over and over.

 

[anitram]

I agree that they are fearmongering.

That's why I watch the CBC or BBC World. Totally different way of presenting the news and the added bonus of avoiding Paula Zahn's face.

 

[U2andPolitix]

I must say CNN is the best of the 3 major networks. it doesn't have the terror alert color up all the time, and to me it plays more positive stories than fox or MSNBC. it also has better shows such as "crossfire" (but i am partial because i'm friends w/the hosts) and anderson cooper 360. but of course we're all entitled to our opinions which are all different. i adore CNN, but it does frustrate me, but CNN's weaknesses are the same as the others. all micheal jackson...all britney spears...WHO CARES??!?! if we want to know about them we'll watch entertainment tonight. i want REAL news. as one news junkie to another...its a hard habit to kick.

 

[Katey]

BBC my personal fav with CBC a close second

 

[nbcrusader]

Media these days is all about what sells..

Whether in the US or abroad, media is a business and it tailors its product to its target consumer.

 

[verte76]

I've stopped watching the news altogether. I get adequate news from my ISP's headlines. I don't give a damn about the latest in the Michael Jackson case or whatever, and that's what they give you. I mean, hell, I might as well be watching Celebrities Uncensored.

 

[~*Buffalo*~]

I don't think the situation is quite as bad in Australia as it is the States. We don't have 24 hour news networks or anything, and the news that is on - on the commercial networks, anyway - is all sensationalist, but appealing to the lowest common denominator ... "Dodgy Lebanese builder cheats a battling family out of $1000 dollars which he used to buy botox for his overweight kids!" It's not real news.

I watch ABC or SBS news, which is more politically/globally slanted and, I find, a lot more objective than the commercial news. The ABC had a fantastic program on a couple of months ago called "CNNNN" which was a spoof of CNN. It was hilarious ... showing just how seriously Americans take themselves over such things as terrorism, war, etc, etc, etc.

 

[bonoman]

The problem with CNN, FOX and MSNBC is they are run strically for profit. That is why news stations such as CBC and BBC, which are gov't sponsered, run really news that doesnt attract only ratings.

If you are ever able to watch the National on the CBC make sure you do. It will change news watching forever

 

[ThatGuy]

I lost all (of my little remaining) repect for CNN a couple of weeks ago when an anchor giving an in-depth look at the timeline of the California mudslides (complete with satellite maps and computer graphics) looked right into the camera and very seriously said, "Now, as you all learned in school, water flows downhill."

The biggest problem with modern media is the 24-hour news cycle. That need to always show something "newsworthy" distorts reality by keeping the focus on one or two major stories and ignoring smaller ones.

 

[Diane L]

Give Countdown With Keith Olbermann on MSNBC a chance. Yes, it has reports on terror alerts and such, but it also features more heartwarming fare as well. Yesterday's show featured a former Romper Room kids' show hostess who'd had her "Magic Mirror" prop stolen, and another former hostess of the show presented her with another one. Maybe it doesn't sound like much in the retelling, but it really was a sweet little story.

I personally enjoy watching Keith Olbermann. Not only is he rather good-looking, but you can tell he doesn't take some of the nonsense posing as news seriously. Unfortunately, his show has the bad luck to be up against Bill O'Reilly's show, so it doesn't get the great ratings it deserves. But it really is well-done, and well-worth checking out.

 

[kobayashi]

I am tuning out because these stations sell one thing, FEAR. Yes, we live in a scary time but you know what, I don't want to be reminded of that every single fu**in' time I turn on the TV

media outlets are a commercial operation as the aptly acronymmed NBC pointed out. they are looking for something captivating and cheap. something that will retain eyeballs and keep costs low.

governments around the world have long filled this void. like or hate the reasons and circumstances, the present administration of the united states has a message, which is heavy on fear and suspicion, that it very much wants to market and sell.

bring the two together and you have cheap newscasts which successfully draw you in.

we end up with correspondents stationed at the white house, pentagon and countless other military, administrative or intelligence postings. these correspondents offer little in the way of analysis-rather they reiterate the statements of officials and authorities both of the unnamed and named sort.

this has unfortunately swept most all regular daily newscasts. it is certainly low cost and its appeal is largely based on the marketing skills (or the importance of the message) of the government.

its nothing new. but the absence of serious analysis is a continuing trend. two networks mentioned previously, cbc and bbc, are among the remaining few who still feature daily analysis or comment within their prime time news programming. but even they have become prey to cutbacks (and more are coming). feature reporting, comment and analysis are relatively expensive. in addition, these state funded organizations have biases of their own which must be respected.

that is really the most important thing. all media have bias and they are not to be taken at face value. variety, diversity of media selection and independent thought are the only remedies.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

if i want to hear a topic discussed, i'll watch a few of the Fox shows or Olberman's show on MSNBC... when a big news story breaks, I stick with CNN.

but of course the only reason why i watch Fox is because of their affiliation with the vast right wing conspiracy... which i'm also a part of. we're ruining the world one day at a time.

 

[~*Buffalo*~]

I lost all (of my little remaining) repect for CNN a couple of weeks ago when an anchor giving an in-depth look at the timeline of the California mudslides (complete with satellite maps and computer graphics) looked right into the camera and very seriously said, "Now, as you all learned in school, water flows downhill."

I'm really not surprised.

 

[U2andPolitix]

The ABC had a fantastic program on a couple of months ago called "CNNNN" which was a spoof of CNN. It was hilarious ... showing just how seriously Americans take themselves over such things as terrorism, war, etc, etc, etc.

there is a reason why we take ourselves seriously over terrorism and war...they are VERY serious and our men an women are dying every day due to both war and terrorism.

 

[U2LipstickBoy]

News is excellent these days

News coverage is great these days, there are more cable news networks now, more radio news networks, thanks to satellite radio there is a whole new segment of radio news, and there are also more internet sources of news.

Over the past 5 years, the increase in news sources has been great. Although, it really doesn't matter a whole lot since the news is the news, and all networks cover the news the same way, the videocamera doesn't lie. And with CNN, MSNBC, and FOX NEWS going 24 hours a day, it doesn't give them any time to edit the news, as you can't edit live camera feeds or live interviews.

When it comes to the news, I trust BBC, CNN, FOX, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, Yahoo news, Reuters, I trust them all, because after countless hours of watching/reading all of them, there is no difference between any of them. Only news source I avoid is Barbara Walters, whenever I see her on my television screen, I flip the channel as fast as possible, her interviews are all scripted, highly edited, and I can't trust her to do anything correctly, ABC should have put her out to pasture years ago.

 

[~*Buffalo*~]

there is a reason why we take ourselves seriously over terrorism and war...they are VERY serious and our men an women are dying every day due to both war and terrorism.

Oh ... that probably didn't come out the way I meant it. I meant more that the media (American, and Australian as well) seems to focus on these issues at the expense of everything else. Of course, they are serious issues, but so are human rights violations in Laos, exploitation of the Amazon rainforests, civil war in Sri Lanka ... certainly, these don't affect westerners the way current conflicts involving America do, but I don't necessarily agree with war/terrorism being the only "shocking" news story.

 

[verte76]

Oh ... that probably didn't come out the way I meant it. I meant more that the media (American, and Australian as well) seems to focus on these issues at the expense of everything else. Of course, they are serious issues, but so are human rights violations in Laos, exploitation of the Amazon rainforests, civil war in Sri Lanka ... certainly, these don't affect westerners the way current conflicts involving America do, but I don't necessarily agree with war/terrorism being the only "shocking" news story.

It's not. We don't get news about Sri Lanka or Laos, and it can lead to, IMO, an unbalanced world-view at times. Sure terrorism is a major headache but the Amazon, Sri Lanka and Laos are also on Planet Earth and we need to know about these situations.

 

[~*Buffalo*~]

It's not. We don't get news about Sri Lanka or Laos, and it can lead to, IMO, an unbalanced world-view at times. Sure terrorism is a major headache but the Amazon, Sri Lanka and Laos are also on Planet Earth and we need to know about these situations.

Exactly my point.

 

[Klaus]

I had some friends from California visiting us in "old Europe" over xmas. They were verry surprised about our news on tv.
After a few days one of them told me "you know i haven't seen such balanced news on tv before".
We were discussing a while how that can be, and after a little conversation we agreet that it might be because here almost everyone watches British, French and German newschanels (some even watch turkish and italian news too), all are balanced, but because ppl are used to compare between the news of the different countries, media can't report as onesided as they might want to.

Klaus

 

[Scarletwine]

An update on "Fair & Balanced"

http://www.tompaine.com/blogs/
Fair and Balanced
David Brock
May 25, 2004
Dems invisible in FOX News Channel Bush speech coverage



Following live coverage of President George W. Bush's 31-minute May 24 speech on U.S. policy in Iraq, during primetime, at 8 p.m. (ET), MSNBC, CNN, and FOX News Channel devoted the remainder of the hour to analysis and commentary.

On MSNBC, host Chris Matthews anchored a special edition of Hardball, which began an hour before Bush's speech and continued afterward. Following Bush's speech, Matthews switched to a lengthy interview with Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, offering a Democratic view. Biden was followed by Representative Duncan Hunter (R-CA), giving a view from congressional Republicans.

On CNN, host Paula Zahn anchored an abbreviated form of her show Paula Zahn Now, headlined "Special Edition: Countdown to Handover." After canvassing CNN White House and Pentagon correspondents, Zahn featured an interview with former President Bill Clinton's Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who offered a Democratic view. Albright was followed by Joe Klein, a regular contributor to Zahn's show and a Time magazine senior writer, and then by an exchange between Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell and Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT), the former vice presidential candidate.

The lineup on FOX News Channel was strikingly different; no Democrats were heard from.

FOX News Channel's coverage was anchored by FOX News managing editor and chief Washington correspondent Brit Hume, who moved from Bush to a panel of pundits that included pro-Bush, pro-war conservative syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer; pro-Bush, pro-war conservative Weekly Standard executive editor Fred Barnes; and Washington Post staff writer Ceci Connolly -- FOX News contributors all. National Public Radio senior correspondent and FOX News Channel political contributor Juan Williams, who often appears on Hume's daily 6 p.m. newscast and has been critical of Bush's polices in Iraq, did not appear on the primetime panel.

Following the panel of two conservative pundits and one news reporter, Hume introduced Representative Peter King (R-NY) as "one who supports the President on this issue." King described the Bush address as "uplifting," "poetry," and said Bush spoke "almost lyrically."

After a brief exchange with FOX senior White House correspondent Jim Angle, Hume returned to his stacked panel for closing remarks. Krauthammer was given the last word: "He had to answer a question, 'does he have a plan?' The answer is yes, he has a plan, with details and dates. He succeeded."

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

3. Run some POSITIVE STORIES. I know this is a stretch, but bare with me here. There's so much f**ckin' death and destruction in the world today, how about some nice stories (and please, save the stupid animal stories, let's focus on HUMAN BEINGS.) I am sure that there are probably 100 kind acts that go unnoticed everyday and are newsworthy for every single bus bombing, terrorist act, or murder. Since when did we as a society develop this appetite for only negative news? Let's see how some people are changing other people's lives for the better. (I'm sure one reason why you don't see more positive human interest stories is because it's cheaper to just take some scary story off the wire and report about it as opposed to sending a reporter into the field with a camera operator to shoot and edit a nice piece.)

Gah, thank you. I couldn't agree more. Geez, the other day my dad turned on the news, and all they talked about was the fighting in Iraq, the severe weather in the Midwest (which, after going through it myself, I really didn't want to hear about again and again), the part of the airport in Paris that collapsed, and a lady who died doing a circus act. I didn't hear a single uplifting story. Even when we turned it to some of the other channels, there wasn't any happy stories. So finally, we just turned off the news altogether. And the local news isn't much better when it comes to the kinds of stories they share.

Definitely need more uplifting stories out there, yes. And I can't say I disagree with everything else a lot of you are saying, either.

Angela

 

[nbcrusader]

Let's give that one big

 

[verte76]

Re: Re: Media in America today

Definitely need more uplifting stories out there, yes. And I can't say I disagree with everything else a lot of you are saying, either.

Angela

Hell, yes. I have virtually stopped watching TV news and reading the newspapers. The media is quite literally driving me nuts these days. I get news on the Internet and that's enough thank you very much. My latest painting, called "Day of Fire", is about being assaulted by bad news and what it makes the world look like to me. I'm lucky that I have an outlet.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Re: Re: Re: Media in America today

My latest painting, called "Day of Fire", is about being assaulted by bad news and what it makes the world look like to me.

That sounds cool. Wish I could see that painting-I'm sure it'd be amazing (didn't know you painted, by the way-that's neat ).

Originally posted by verte76
I'm lucky that I have an outlet.

Yeah, thank goodness for things like that. . My outlet is writing. .

Angela

 

[A_Wanderer]

I smell some CNNNNN action buffalo, the rest of the world is missing out big time, gimme some Firth Factor!