Thursday, July 12, 2012
Is the "news of the day" really that important?
In the beginning of chapter five of Amusing Ourselves to Death, the author made a statement about today's news that really made me think. He began by speaking about the invention of the telegraph and the information it was used to transmit, for the information that was swapped between distant states such as Maine and Texas was irrelevant to the lives of the people who lived in those states. What was happening in a small town in Tennessee did not really affect the daily lives of those who lived in Nevada. So why do we feel the need to make our news national? Is it because it is relevant and will inspire us to take action, or is it just because we can deliver information within seconds and like to make it well known? I don't mean to say that it is not important to know what is going on in the world around us, but some of the information we do receive is unnecessary. A few seconds of the news may change the way we go about our daily lives, such as a traffic or weather report, but is it necessary for us to know about Lindsay Lohan's latest scandal, or Tom Cruise's divorce? Can't we find a better way to spend our time than keeping up with the latest Hollywood gossip, or has our society reached a point where that is the only thing people can talk about?
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Kristen, I'm having trouble watching news of the day these days -- not just gossip, which I ignore to the best of my ability, but also substantive news...I admit, the election has me tight inside. I'm nervous, worried -- because no matter HOW the election comes out, the two sides are so divided and divisive, that we are certain to face more years of Congressional stalemate. Gridlock. I never, ever watch network news. It all just seems idiotic to me now. I have to seek out news from other venues...and it tends to depress me.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, Ralph Nader once pointed out that we are quick to ask one another about our social lives, but we never ask each other about our civic lives. I believe we are beholden to one another, that communities thrive when the members give as well as take. My life as a citizen of this country has to matter. I have to do what I can to preserve and protect the democratic values that I embrace. That has to mean more than merely voting, right?
Are high school students interested in their civic lives?
High school students take an interest in our civic lives because we are rapidly approaching an age in which we will be voting and making decisions that affect our community. It is important for us to be informed of political issues and propositions that will be voted upon in the upcomming elections because they will affect our lives in the near future. For example the cost of our tuition as college students in two years will be greatly determined by the decsions made by voters in November. It is our jobs as responsible citizen be informed and take control of our civis lives.
DeleteI agree that some news seems irrelevant to us and our daily lives. The first thing I do every morning is turn on the morning news, and I find myself disgusted that even the most "serious" of stations are running stories based on celebrity gossip. What happened to actual news? Informing me about Tom Cruise's divorce should just be a passing story: Why should we have to be forced into his and his ex-wife's private life?
ReplyDeleteAs for news in other states, I think it is important to know what is going on in other states is essential. Shouldn't the rest of the country know whether there was another tornado in Kansas, or a flood in Florida? Knowing this information is important in order to keep up with family and friends in other parts of the country.
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ReplyDeleteI also agree that there is some news that we do not need to be informed about. And haven't you also noticed that most of the news is depressing? I usually find myself not being able to watch the news because of the depressing stories so I end up having to turn it off.
ReplyDeleteBut they probably know how unnecessary the gossip of the celebrities are, but they show it any way because all they want is money so they show what they believe their viewers want to see to keep them interested.
They make news national because we need to be informed on what is going on for political reasons as well as safety reasons. Most of us like to go traveling so if a war or a natural disaster is occurring in other states, then we know that it is not safe to go there. Also if we know these things then we could help other states like Japan and Haiti rebuild their country from the disasters they faced.
I believe that the news that the media puts out there for us to see has become increasingly unnecessary over the years. The media most likely does this in order to keep its viewers interested; however, this is an issue because it also keeps viewers ignorant. Some everyday news given to us such as weather or traffic reports does come in handy but is news about a dog rescuing his owner really necessary over the latest political news?
ReplyDeleteA while ago, the news reported the issue about child soldiers in Africa which had been going on for years, yet very few people knew about it. Over the years, while the news was reporting about celebrity scandals and dog rescues, why didn't they report about the African child soldiers or natural disasters? If this type of news had been reported sooner over the unnecessary stories, help and donations may have gone out earlier to aid Africa and those with ruined homes.
I believe that the news needs to step up and inform the world with necessary stories that have affected many people and leave the personal lives of celebrities to the celebrities.
Postman certainly does see the irrelevance of the "news of the day" on the global, national, and some parts of the local scale as you have pointed out in your thread. Certainly the latest celebrity gossip and most other news broadcasted does not affect our daily lives and routine.
ReplyDeleteHowever, Postman later points out in Part II of the book that news has become entertainment. With the daily news of television, it is made to be entertaining; short 45 second clips of local, national, and global news made and meant for our entertainment.
As Anika points out, the time spent broadcasting trivial news could be replaced with important political news or news about child soldiers in Africa. As for political news, Postman addresses that even important news to citizens' civil duty, is also meant to be entertaining, as shown in chapter 6, where Ronald Reagan "KO'd" his political opponent with a joke. As for child soldiers in Africa or other unfortunate events around the globe, I believe that is a good idea, but news companies are there for entertainment; which is why they show short clips of new news clips every 45 seconds - to hold on to our short attention spans. I am not saying that a video on child soldiers in Africa wouldn't be well received - Kony 2012 was extremely captivating - but most of the television media is out there to make money and keep us entertained.