I was watching CNN last night before I left to bed and there was a very interesting discussion that was going on between, Bill Maher and Larry King. The discussion was very provocative to say the least. As there was one question that Larry asked Bill and his response was that we are over informed. He went on to say that we tend now to be a society that over indulges in the news to the point that it's over done. He actually blamed the media. He had made several examples of this and he literally is someone that has his own opinion but at the same time he truly is a brilliant man if you ask me. I found that it was really something that caught my attention, as I have never heard someone say this. Over informed. According to Bill the media will not report all the news in an equal manner but they will thrive on a certain area and keep repeating on it to the point that it really come to be a disservice to the areas of things that are happening. I was amazed when he said that Haiti was over done and that he stopped listening to it at a certain point. He said that he had so many people that wrote to him about this, some declared him as being prejudice - and then he went on to say that we like the fast easy news. He went on to say how we tend to want immediate information. One example he made was within the Congo for years there have been over 9 million people dying and how we have become a state of convenience. I suppose what he was getting at was that news now is over done. It gets to a point where we have passed far beyond the learning curve. I myself love the news mind you I find that what he said was actually very true. We do have biased reporting, perhaps we are looking for the simple easy things rather than looking more in depth with what goes on within our world. Then again, I only watched the show as I got a little tired of mens figure skating because....(the rest is edited out) 
. So I ended up watching this show on CNN. It was captivating, as the women's figure skating is as well. 
The "news" is a pet peeve of mine, and I rarely watch what passes for news anymore. I wish they would report news that is newsworthy, then go onto the next story. I don't need 6 hours of news on Michael Jackson's death, ok...he died...that's sad...move on. I don't need to know the details of Tiger Woods' personal life, I could care less...it's not news. I don't need half a dozen so-called experts giving me their opinion on a news story....that's editorial, not news. I see news channels on 24/7 yet they barely cover half a dozen stories a day, and half of those aren't even newsworthy. Give me some real news.....get all the facts first...tell me the story....move on....that's all I want from the news.
ReplyDeleteI feel the very same,ironically this was just the way that it was being discussed last night. Nor am I a big new fan as it's different now we are over indulged in the "easy news".
ReplyDeleteI guess, now you know why I prefer reading News instead of listening to news.. when I read, I pick and choose, some I will only read headlines others entire stories... I dont really care which celebrity is on the nth marriage or nth childbirth, or which one is having an affair. I skim through the news to get the why, who how, where and what and the rest is water under the bridge.
ReplyDeleteRashmi, yes and me as well but I do love good news, love reading the newspaper and pbs and a few others but not into the sensationalized newsmaking that just goes on and on. It's so different how it's reported today in comparision to just ten years ago.
ReplyDeleteThis guy is heading to bed...
Good night Jack, Sleep well.
ReplyDeleteBill Maher can be a bit caustic at times, and down right cold-blooded regarding some matters. But you're right, Jack, he's very bright and I think he's articulated something dead right: certain media stories are repeated and "dumbed down" while other stories are excluded.
ReplyDeletehttp://lurchie.multiply.com/links/item/3/Should_NBC_have_shown_video_of_Nodar_Kumaritashvilis_death_-_Fourth-Place_Medal_-_...?replies_read=2
ReplyDeleteTalk about too much information & the media...how about repeating over & over in slow motion, someone dying?
When I had a TV, before December 2007, I watched CSpan only.
I sort of suspect that the media knows most of us are idiots, & salivate over saturation.
Hey, I like what I just wrote! Not bad!
i caught a bit of his show, He does the same thing on his show, and like a lot of politics his opinion is what counts.
ReplyDeletei agree
ReplyDeleteYebo yes !!!!
ReplyDeleteI watched part of that Bill Maher interview, too. Maher is a bright guy, although I don't agree with all of his opinions. Still, he has some valuable insites to contribute.
ReplyDeleteAs for the news: the local news has used the same formulas since at least the '60's, which is about when I began watching it. They don't go into depth or give opinions because if they alienate any viewers their ratings will drop. They seem to get all the stories they're going to cover from the same source, since you can switch from channel to channel and often they'll all be covering the same story at the same time.
There are millions of things happening all over the world every day, and yet they all seem to pick a few of the more sensationalist ones off the wires and focus on them as a group.
At some point, they'll show a fire, because people like to watch fires, as long as it's not their own home going up in a blaze.
They always include the local police blotter: a bank was robbed somewhere, a man was attacked.
Their world coverage often seems to include a bus going off a cliff somewhere halfway around the world.
Sports and weather.
And they usually wind up with a human interest story. Man bites dog, cat rescues family from fire, man with Alzheimer's found wandering and returned to family.
And interspersed between every few stories are a LOT of commercials.
At least back in the 70's they had teams of actual reporters who would go out and dig up some facts. Then they discovered that it was cheaper to just plant one "reporter" in front of a fire or the White House and let them read something off a teleprompter. And they fired the guys who gave personal commentaries, because some might not agree with his or her opinion. Don't want the ratings to go down as people change the channel.
Which is what the news is really all about: ratings and raking in some cash for the station, offending as few people as possible; "info-tainment."
The news is very cheap to produce, and usually gets high ratings. Appealing to the least common denominator has become the standard, which has led to the phrase "the dumbing down of America." (although I suspect the local news formula is the same in most of the world. With the exception of the BBC, which tends to go into greater depth on issues. And in countries like China, in which any negative comment about the government would culminate with the commentator in a dungeon.)
All of which is why I quit watching the local news, for the most part, years ago. Except when I'm in the mood to see a good fire.
I get South Dakota news. They do a pretty good job of reporting local news, state news and even( God forbid) they have real discussions on their real issues. they even include some of Minneosta news for us "almost South Dakotans". it is nothing like the national BS stuff
ReplyDeletei only listen at the local news most times,sometimes good morning america, after that null and void for me.have yourself a good day.
ReplyDeleteVery true Doug this one the other night I found to one of those interesting areas where he made much sense.
ReplyDeleteI will flip through the channels right before bed and if I find something worthy Lucija, then I will watch it. I have come not not being a large fan of
ReplyDeletetelevision, PBS and the movies are good but yeah there is an over doing it of over news not just the olympics but
within so many areas. It tend to go beyond that learning curve where, and seemingly it's a very biased reporting - You wrote it and
yeah it's nice thanks. I didnt expect that some would really respond with this as it was semi political I guess.
Tee I have watch a few of his shows but to be honest - those shows are entertainment then again most news is entertainment now
ReplyDeletein some way shape or form. What's new - everything is new! What is significant - all to often is missed or over repeated to the point
that one has already got the point - why do I feel like I am "Bill" right now :). Cos I am not.... :)
Yeeebo Annette...meanwhile what ever happened to Africa and all the other issues of people that are dying right at this moment, this very minute?
ReplyDeleteI better not push this. I don't wish too. :)
Very insightful person for him to have the answers to the questions without saying "ummmm...answer", or navigate away he has to do his research. I am sure that this person is not dumb and of course there are other ones that are captivating - Charley Rose. Was one of the first to really do good interviews. Within the 70's, 80's, and the the start of the 90's it seems that we did have the information without the "infotainment" that really hits the nail on the wood. Factual reporting and leaving it up the the viewer to come up with there own conclusions, rather than giving it within there own biased reporting with a flair of sensationalism. Rush Lombard if I spelled his name correctly and O'Rielly seem to be ones that wake up every morning with this attitude and thought of - what can I choose to cause havoc today. So it seems. You hit a point there local news is much different I never thought about that. As it really is come to think about it.
ReplyDeleteTee I never thought about local news and yeah there is a large difference.
ReplyDeleteParrie, I will skim through the newspaper in the morning with a coffee and that is it when it comes to the morning.
ReplyDeleteYou as well have a great evening Parrie.
Saw the page Lucija, was a good question that he blogged there. As that was one of the main concerns that provoked things at the beginning of the Olympics so much, but think of the family and all do they really wish to see this all on the news. He even placed it on his blog the link of the person place the link with. It's sort of over the top.
ReplyDeleteYet maybe we are living in a different manner rendered by television networks that are looking for anything to make a buck.
I myself enjoy Craig Ferguson now and then :)
Not watching the same programs so it is difficult for me to relate. However, I like to watch the news after I get home to get a pulse of what is happening globally, as I listen to the morning news before going to work. I am not too sure if we stop listening because we receive too much information and get saturated, or if we stop listening because we find it too hard to be helpless in situations such as the recent Haiti seism or Apartheid, and other disasters where we know many lives are lost, or there is famine, etc. We send some money but have to keep going, so we shut-down to it... cause it is too painful... have I got side-tracked here... maybe.. enough said girl... Good night Jack
ReplyDeleteSometimes the reporters really haven't got a clue, or they report what they want leaving out things that are important. I was watching a show (tribute) about Walter Cronkite who passed away July 2009. He was an incredible man..the research that he would do on the stories he reported is amazing. He had high standards and was loyal to those standards that he set
ReplyDeleteYes, belated kudo's to the late, great Walter Cronkite. They don't make them like that anymore.
ReplyDeleteOr if they do, they don't let them on television.
"initiativestain wrote today at 3:35 PM
ReplyDeleteSaw the page Lucija, was a good question that he blogged there. As that was one of the main concerns that provoked things at the beginning of the Olympics so much, but think of the family and all do they really wish to see this all on the news. He even placed it on his blog the link of the person place the link with. It's sort of over the top.
Yet maybe we are living in a different manner rendered by television networks that are looking for anything to make a buck."
The indignity of it. If the news shows the ravaging of wars, impoverished countries with death therein, that is one thing; people are informed about what's going on in the world. There was absolutely no rationale in showing this individual, this young man Noda, dying. They certainly could have reported his death, & how it happened. That's all. As long as people are intrigued by the macabre, the media will make money off it.
I can't help thinking that kids are often impervious to death because they see so much of it...violent movies, bizarre video games. A very little kid will take a gun, (unguarded in someone's house), shoot another kid without even knowing what death is.
Did I wander off the track? Not by much, I think.
it continues ..... that will not change in the near future - it is merely nature taking care of itself ....
ReplyDeleteWell said. That's about all it is---if anything the local news is so formulaic that you can see the same stuff everywhere---pictures of events not coverage behind the events themselves, unless they were piggybacking off the local papers.
ReplyDeleteI will ditto mindsnomad's comments.
ReplyDeleteSorry there Lucija, I have not been on here since this post. Yet your thoughts were very thought provoking. You never have wondered off. I literally have to come back to what I wrote as I know it was on too much infomation. And it was something I truly think we do live within a time where anything goes.
ReplyDeleteIt's okay. I've been all over the place myself.
ReplyDeleteWhat I don't understand, is when I see an alert from you in my Yahoo email, it never comes up in Multiply? O have to go to my contacts...even if it's a recent one...to find it. Oh well.
I have no idea Lucija....I would check your settings....by the way good morning...
ReplyDelete