Thursday, February 2, 2012

Is this News or Entertainment?

How's my mental health today?

I'm not awake enough to be able to tell.

Last night I was watching the news on television and observed a young man on the street asked his opinion on a story just reported. I felt embarrassed for the young guy. His response included such blatantly incorrect information that it invalidated the credibility of his position.

I wondered why TV newscasts put interviews like that on the air? This was certainly not the first time it's happened. What is the purpose of showing these clips? Is it to spread incorrect information? Do they do it to mock the intelligence of the viewers? Do they do it to demonstrate how stupid people can be?

Is this a newscast or another entertainment show?

Why do TV newscasts and newspapers include opinion polls with yes or no questions that clearly emphasize biased editorial positions?

Is this the news or political commentary?

Can't they just report the facts?

Why does the local CBC 5 p.m. News broadcast last 90 minutes? Do we really need to see the same story repeated 3 times?

When I was studying in Germany (almost 40 years ago) the TV Newscasts were 15 minutes long. The viewer was told what happened and the known facts and then they moved on to the next story.

I much prefer the brief, unbiased, factual reports. Too bad we don't get those here.

The voice of the intelligence is drowned out by the roar of fear. 
It is ignored by the voice of desire. 
It is contradicted by the voice of shame. 
It is biased by hate and extinguished by anger. 
Most of all it is silenced by ignorance.
~ Karl A. Menninger




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