I hate the news..

[XNine]

So, last night, at 10 PM, the news came on with their TEN MINUTES OF NONSTOP NEWS! And, to my dissappointment, the first 7 minutes was nothing but how the Denver Broncos lost (I live in Colorado). Then, the first story after that was how soem kid riding his bike got gunned down in Denver.

HOW THE **** IS SOME SORRY ASS FOOTBALL TEAM MORE IMPORTANT THAN A KID GETTING GUNNED DOWN?!

Then, after the 3 minutes of local/world coverage, they went to a commercial break, when they came back, ANOTHER 6 MINUTES OF BRONCOS COVERAGE!!

WTF? I'm I the only person out there outraged by this? I wanna know what the hell is going on in my state/country/world. I don't care about a football team (if it were hockey, it still wouldn't be different). Seriously. Why is the loss of a local football team more important than ACTUAL events?

CNN is all crap too. All they talk about is the war in IRAQ, then 5 minutes of other things, the stock market, repeat.

Surely there's a news broadcast out there worth watching?

 

[andiwm2003]

i use the internet for news. the TV is for entertainment only. for international news i use the various internet streams of european TV news shows.

 

[Lyle]

i use the internet for news.

For local news? It is definitely true (for me) that I learn of most national and international news on the internet, well before the evening news broadcasts. The web sites that report on the local news are sort of hit or miss, though.

 

[Danksi]

i use the internet for news. the TV is for entertainment only. for international news i use the various internet streams of european TV news shows.

We killed our cable a while ago, we realised the only 'entertainment' was surfing the 80 odd channels trying to find something worth watching - total waste of ~CDN$50/mo.

Internet (mostly RSS) for news etc. and DVDs/Video for entertainment. We're finding podcasts can be entertaining as well.

 

[NewbieNerd]

Unfortunately the news is, like most things, a business with the only goal of making money. People are desensitized to local shootings and what not, so more care about the Broncos than the kid next door.

 

[yellow]

Surely there's a news broadcast out there worth watching?

The BeeB World Report?

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

You have my deepest sympathies, as we're approaching the 2006 Winter Olympics it's bound to be even worse here in Norway.

Just recently there were a couple of tournaments in Ski Jumping, maybe one of the dullest TV sports ever, and during that time Norwegian TV news were full of Ski Jumping, h***, they even had Ski Jumping as head news on days there weren't competition.

Now imagine how the news here are going to be with all the other winter sports up until and during the Olympics... &

 

[tobefirst ⚽️]

...Seriously. Why is the loss of a local football team more important than ACTUAL events?

I understand the sentiment. However, I also think that you may be missing something here. Football games, and sports in general, ARE actual events. They are important in that they are a very substantial part of our society. To religate "sports news" solely to the 2 minutes that local news broadcasts dedicate to sports would, in a lot of cases, undermine the significance of the event. With regard to "significance" I'm talking about a level of significance relative to the scope, or audience, of the news broadcast.

I do not intend to offend you, or anyone else, and I hope that I have not done so.

 

[PlaceofDis]

i gave up on TV after my first year of college. i don't miss it either. the news was always the worst. i find the newpaper and online to be a much better resource. reading the local paper's websites is probably the best place for local coverage as the TV station's sites are crap. reporting isn't what it used to be, especially for TV, its all about ratings now.

i share your disappointment.

 

[Stampyhead]

I understand the sentiment. However, I also think that you may be missing something here. Football games, and sports in general, ARE actual events. They are important in that they are a very substantial part of our society. To religate "sports news" solely to the 2 minutes that local news broadcasts dedicate to sports would, in a lot of cases, undermine the significance of the event. With regard to "significance" I'm talking about a level of significance relative to the scope, or audience, of the news broadcast.

I do not intend to offend you, or anyone else, and I hope that I have not done so.

What you are saying is true, and I think that it is the very fact that it IS true is what has got the OP worked into a tizzy. I have to agree with him. I think that sports are a complete waste of time, and the fact that people would rather hear the details about some overpaid, undereducated jock running around with a little ball than real stories about real people in their own city, state, nation, world, etc. is partly what is wrong with the world. Football is just a game, people. Turn off the TV and go spend time with your kids, read a book, find something worthwhile to do with your life. The lives of the ancent Romans revolved around games and sports, and look what happened to them?

 

[Dr. Dastardly]

Television news is a joke. If I want local I read the daily paper, if I want international I hit the web. Do this about daily and with the RSS screen saver that came with Tiger I get what ever tech headlines I need.

BEST
SCREEN
SAVER
EVER.

 

[aquajet]

Surely there's a news broadcast out there worth watching?

The Daily Show. That's the only "news" broadcast I watch. And maybe Faux News every now and again. Both give me a good laugh.

There's one thing you have to remember about the major media outlets: they are a business, just like any other, that exists to make money. How does it make money? By selling advertising space. And the cost of advertising space depends upon ratings. The media depends on us to watch their shows, and if we don't watch, the price of advertising space plummets. So knowing this, we now know that we are responsible for what we see on television. And generally speaking, people want entertainment, and you can't entertain someone by droning on for hours about what's happening around the world. And hours are what you need to really exam what's going on. This is precisely why C-Span is so boring.

Here's an example why nobody should rely or perhaps even trust the major news outlets: Iran announced in 2004 that it would open its own oil bourse based upon the Euro. Considering the fact that any country that wants to purchase oil must do so by purchasing from either the New York Mercantile Exchange or the International Petroleum Exchange (which BTW are both owned by US companies) using strictly US dollars, this puts Iran and the Euro in direct competition with the US and its dollar. Considering the Euro is significantly stronger than the dollar, and the Euro crowd around the world could get a much better deal using their own currency, this could have dire consequences for the US economy.

But the major US media outlets never reported any of this. Why not? Perhaps it's because it's a far too complex issue to report on using sound bites. Or maybe because it's due to government censure. Regardless of the reasons, it is a reason why we should not trust them. I think our best bet is probably the internet. But even then we must examine everything we see with a critical eye.

 

[takao]

You have my deepest sympathies, as we're approaching the 2006 Winter Olympics it's bound to be even worse here in Norway.

Just recently there were a couple of tournaments in Ski Jumping, maybe one of the dullest TV sports ever, and during that time Norwegian TV news were full of Ski Jumping, h***, they even had Ski Jumping as head news on days there weren't competition.

Now imagine how the news here are going to be with all the other winter sports up until and during the Olympics... &

haha as an austrian i can feel your pain... our TV channels have already those small things added to their logo on the right top corner "28 days untill the olympic winter games".. and on some days like 6 hours skiingfollowed by 2 hours skijumping followed by a short half an hour report + interviews about the ski races before.. then interviews and reports about ski jumping.. then some report about nordic skiing .. then 4 normal tv shows.. and then evening news with top headline : skiing.. then "sport news" with the same.. then the weather with the additional "snow news for skiing" and the finally something without sport... only being followed by the evning news with it as top headline as well

oh don't forget the TV commercials including current or former skiing stars.. for frozen fish, fruit juices, cheese, insurances, sport clothing stores and of course computer games about skiing... arghhhhh

and yet the whole thing is gonna get worse in in the next weeks when it has to be decided which skiing stars take the 4 slots in each category in the olympics...

 

[maestro55]

I usually turn off the news when they start talking about sports, I have no desires to hear about the sports. I don't mind hearing about Iraq, because I want to know what is going on over there, and I want to know how our presidents mistake of ordering troops into Iraq is affecting the world as a whole. I enjoy knowin the business news and any other news you can throw at me, so I don't mind the news. I just don't like sports coverage.

 

[tobefirst ⚽️]

What you are saying is true, and I think that it is the very fact that it IS true is what has got the OP worked into a tizzy. I have to agree with him. I think that sports are a complete waste of time, and the fact that people would rather hear the details about some overpaid, undereducated jock running around with a little ball than real stories about real people in their own city, state, nation, world, etc. is partly what is wrong with the world. Football is just a game, people. Turn off the TV and go spend time with your kids, read a book, find something worthwhile to do with your life. The lives of the ancent Romans revolved around games and sports, and look what happened to them?

I think that you and I are on opposite ends of this spectrum. And that's fine...

At least in my case, sports have been the thing that my father and I have bonded most over. He's the one who taught me how to catch, how to hit. He'd kick the soccer ball around with me in the backyard. My first MLB game was spent sitting right next to my dad, as was my first NHL game. Countless Sundays watching football, nights watching baseball. I'm sure this is true of countless others. In arguing that "people should go spend time with [their] kids" and, at the same time, declare sports as "a complete waste of time," I think that you're discounting what sports mean- outside of what happens on the field of play.

Sporting events are a lot more than just what happens on the field of play. They are VERY MUCH an opportunity to connect with other people. It's a culture thing. To suggest that reading a book, or doing something "worthwhile" would be more important would be do deny the connections that sports create.

Sporting news is very much that- news. The stories surrounding it are no less "real."

 

[XNine]

No, I realize that Sports are "important" to society. I mean, I LOVE Hockey (and am going to the Av's/Flames game tomorrow night, woot!) but come on already. Half of your damn news show shouldn't be about ONE event. Especially one that your team lost horribly. Hell, the Av's could win the Stanley Cup and you wouldn't see half as much press as the Broncos got.

The reason I "watch" the news, and most often in the morning, is to catch up on things. I usually leave it on and do things and listen to it rather than watch. This morning was the same case, I was hopping in the shower when they were talking about the broncos. Got dressed while lsitening about soem other stuff, then while brushing my teeth, the broncos again.

It's just sad. IF there was a streaming internet news channel that let me know what was going on in the USA and then the world abroad in 20 minutes I'd be okay with that.

It just sucks when football is more important then dying children, crappy presidents' decisions, or how my drive into work will be.

 

[andiwm2003]

when i was living in europe the first ten minutes of the news where world news, politics, "real" news and the last 5 min where sports events. then you had sports news and all forms of political, world, local, technology, business news and what not.
here in the us you have 7 min one event, 7 min sports, 7 min commercials, 7 min repeat of the event, 7 min commercials, 7 min useless extra info to the event, 3 min sports, 7 min commercials, a useless discussion about the event, a clueless expert with a controversial opinion about the event, 7 min commercials... you get the picture. it seems there are only two events a week that get repeated over and over. the rest of the news gets lost.

people have the "news" running on their TV but nobody actually watches them anymore.

i hope the internet takes over and cnn, cbs, fox and the like disappear because of low quotes.

 

[Stampyhead]

I think that you and I are on opposite ends of this spectrum. And that's fine...

At least in my case, sports have been the thing that my father and I have bonded most over. He's the one who taught me how to catch, how to hit. He'd kick the soccer ball around with me in the backyard. My first MLB game was spent sitting right next to my dad, as was my first NHL game. Countless Sundays watching football, nights watching baseball. I'm sure this is true of countless others. In arguing that "people should go spend time with [their] kids" and, at the same time, declare sports as "a complete waste of time," I think that you're discounting what sports mean- outside of what happens on the field of play.

Sporting events are a lot more than just what happens on the field of play. They are VERY MUCH an opportunity to connect with other people. It's a culture thing. To suggest that reading a book, or doing something "worthwhile" would be more important would be do deny the connections that sports create.

Sporting news is very much that- news. The stories surrounding it are no less "real."

No, I understand what you're saying. Sports didn't play the sort of role in my life as it did for you, so I didn't see it from that point of view. Anything that allows parents and children to spend time together and create lasting memories is certainly a worthwhile endeavor and is not time wasted (I've even taken my little niece to a few baseball games and we enjoyed ourselves immensely). I guess my rant was directed more toward armchair sports fans who sit in front of the TV and block out the world around them, i.e. wife and kids. I know a guy who tried to get out of going on vacation with his family around Thanksgiving because he would miss the Packers game. I think this is unacceptable. No matter how much you like sports your family should come first.
Anyway, all of this is just the opinion of someone who was raised not watching sports and I don't watch them myself (apart from the odd hockey game here and there). I don't mean to offend and I certainly appreciate hearing other's views on the subject.

 

[Mr. Durden]

I live in Denver as well, and even though a persons life is certainly more important than a football game, the fact remains that the game is on more peoples minds and is more a draw for ratings. Ratings = money. Noone ever accused the networks of actually caring about people. They only care about the bottom line.

And speaking of the bottom line, did you see that they were estimating that Denver (the city) would make over $20Million dollars in taxes related to this weekends football game?

Have to feed that money machine.

 

[Kernow]

The BeeB World Report?

I've watched this a few times when I've been abroad on work, and found it to be basically a half hour show repeated about four hundred times in a row.

I take your point though - although there are many genuine criticisms of the BBC at the moment, compared to the description of the news reports above, they still do a good job in presenting the news.

 

[XNine]

I've watched this a few times when I've been abroad on work, and found it to be basically a half hour show repeated about four hundred times in a row.

I take your point though - although there are many genuine criticisms of the BBC at the moment, compared to the description of the news reports above, they still do a good job in presenting the news.

The BBC always has the hottest girls with the hottest accents doing the enws as well. Makes me want to live in Europe.

Mr. Durden: 20 MILLION in taxes, just for a damn football game? Good God. That's a traveshamockery!

 

[Thanatoast]

Ok, here's my advice:

Listen to NPR (1340 AM) on the way to and from work every day. This will get you caught up on most world, national, and business news. Or at least as much as can be expected.

Colorado Matters comes on at either 7 or 8 o'clock, I don't listen, sorry, but they have local stories. Listen to that instead of watching channel 2/4/7/9/31.

Also, PBS has some pretty boring yet informative news shows, some local. Don't know anything about them except that they exist. I'll ask my friend who works at Channel 6.

Also pick up a newspaper. They're not great, but not as bad as local tv news. The Westword (free) has in-depth stories about local looked-over events not deemed newsworthy, but are often more compelling and show more character than the Post and News combined.

 

[gekko513]

We have a radio channel in Norway called "Always News". It's great. It continually broadcasts news from Norway, Sweden and the BBC. Obviously you get to hear the same news several times if you listen all day, but if you tune in and listen for just a while you will generally get a good and broad picture of the headlines around the world and locally.

Maybe there's something similar in the US?

 

[XNine]

Ok, here's my advice:

Listen to NPR (1340 AM) on the way to and from work every day. This will get you caught up on most world, national, and business news. Or at least as much as can be expected.

Colorado Matters comes on at either 7 or 8 o'clock, I don't listen, sorry, but they have local stories. Listen to that instead of watching channel 2/4/7/9/31.

Also, PBS has some pretty boring yet informative news shows, some local. Don't know anything about them except that they exist. I'll ask my friend who works at Channel 6.

Also pick up a newspaper. They're not great, but not as bad as local tv news. The Westword (free) has in-depth stories about local looked-over events not deemed newsworthy, but are often more compelling and show more character than the Post and News combined.

Excellent advice. Yeah, I used to be a huge Westword reader years ago, mostly for local underground info and good punk shows. And let's not forget the Onion (comical, I know).

yeah, 2/4/7/9/31 are the devil!


Thanks!

 

[Abstract]

I don't even get my news from TV or internet. I get it from reading threads on MR. In fact, this is my only contact point to the real world.


So anyway, the Denver Broncos lost?