In chapter five of Amusing Ourselves to Death, Postman
states that knowing about global crises and wars is irrelevant because while we
read and watch news stories about wars, oil spills, and deforestation, few of
us actually take action. Think about it. How many times have we watched the
news and a story airs about a tragedy somewhere in the world, and have done
absolutely nothing about it? Sure, we may comment on how distressing it is and
perhaps murmur a quick prayer, but more often than not we will forget about it
when the next news story airs.
So why do we feel the need to read or watch such news
stories? Most will say to be informed, but is that really it? Is there really
any point to airing tragic stories if so few are actually going to take action?
This reminds me of the earthquakes we've had recently. You can find it on Facebook faster than any news station, but I'm going off topic here. I don't watch the news much, nor do I spend much time reading up on news either. When I do, it usually is to stay up to date in the world.
ReplyDeleteNow, to try and get to a point. Sure, there are some stories that vary in severity. People can take action, but really, is there a way that every viewer can help?
Not many of us can really take matters into our own hands and change what ends up happening. But, with it being aired, it may just raise the chances of people taking action. The stories can't possibly have everybody help, but the stories do raise the awareness and possibly the amount of people who can.
Well the point of the news is to be informed of what has happened. They want to know more about what they're intrigued by. People will be interested and some just won't be so they will just not pay attention to what they are seeing.
ReplyDeletePeople watch the news because television has taken over as the accepted medium of discourse. Although news is pretty much irrelevant now, as Postman constantly states, television has made society believe that they need to watch the news in order to stay informed. In Chapter 7, Postman states, "Ignorance is always correctable. But what shall we do if we take ignorance to be knowledge?" This is what has happened to American culture. We receive irrelevant, fragmented knowledge from the news; however, we believe that this "disinformation" is important and necessary for us to stay well informed.
ReplyDeleteAs Postman also states many times, television is the main source of entertainment. Everything on television now aims to entertain, otherwise it will not survive. People watch the news to be entertained. Isn't it entertaining to learn about a car chase down the freeway? What about a robbery? A hostage situation? Some of these events may be horrible, yet they can still be entertaining since no news story is taken very seriously. Postman described that the brevity of each news clip as well as the amiability and attractiveness of the newscasters and the news station's "jingle" all contribute to a sense of entertainment, keeping the viewer from feeling too passionately about any one story.
Postman also says that our media has been transformed the new stories into irrelevant, short bits of information. He states that people prefer quick information because we have lost the ability to focus. The news media has adapted accordingly, but I’m skeptical whether it was logical to go in that direction. With each news segment being about 2 minutes long and newspaper articles containing at most a dozen paragraphs, of course we wouldn’t have any attachment to viewing them.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I believe that people would reflect upon tragic events if we heard the entire perspectives besides the concrete statements. To hear those affected by the events, it can make listeners empathize. I rather watch documentaries than news segments when it comes to truly disheartening stories.
In the comment section of every article about a trajic event, I often find people writing R.I.P. or deepest condolences. Many of these people don't really feel sympathy or sadness. The people who do feel sadness only feel it till the next exciting thing happens.
ReplyDeleteSome people may have a perverse enjoyment in knowing that people in the world are suffering more than they are. Others simply use the news as a means of gossip. The daily news consists of the world's smallest car, chimpanzees, and longest python. It is sad to see how low our news system has gone. Tragedy has simply become a spectacle for people to look at. Depressing events are used to make people feel that their lives are interesting.
However, the news does have a positive effect. There have been some cases where a fund has been created on the internet by people in order to help certain people. The news has helped rally support against acts of injustice. In the end, it is important for the world to know of tragic stories because few of the people in the world may take action.
Everyone watches the news mainly to become informed on what has been going on. Some do this for a sensible reason, others are just plain nosy. The whole purpose of hourly news is to alert and inform those on domestic and foreign activity. Edward did bring up a good point when he said that the daily news now consists of nonsense topics that really are for amusement rather than for knowledgeable reasons. This is very true. Just go to AOL or Yahoo! sites and you will see the "news" people report. I have seen some good news broadcastings that did inform me on issues that could affect myself or my family. However, the majority of the time, I just hear or read another Bigfoot citing or a man marrying his dog.
ReplyDeleteEven the newspaper is gradually falling into this pit of despair. The front page story is still focusing on the war our nation is currently experiencing or what politician gave a tremendous speech. But at least half of the articles now are written about movies reviews or the new gadgets for your kitchen. The list continues with more stories for the reader's amusement. Even book reviewers are losing their column spaces by technology gurus in the Los Angeles Times.
This is noticed by many, yet addressed by only a few. What a pity.