News media v. News commentary (interview, legal, CNN, solution)

[Sunaimer]

I remember back in 1990, watching CNN for the first time, I believe watching bombings in Libya by the US. It was the only cable news that had 24/7 news on TV. Perhaps it was a time when I was home with a newborn baby watching the news for the first time as well. Nowadays it seems every Cable news station is really not in the middle just reporting facts and they skew history to meet their own views. It seems to be cable news is now all one sided reporting. Wish the news media was still just the facts with absolutely no commentary. I have stopped watching cable news completely and I am much happier. I will watch the local news for 30 minutes each day. What are your thoughts on how the news media has evolved?

[tijlover]

I stopped watching all televised news 10 years ago. Being that man is ice to truth, fire to falsehoods, it's a no-brainer that the truth will not be found with the news media, as they're all out to protect their jobs.

Journalists are out to entertain their audiences, which is what the audiences are looking for.

I have pleaded with the local news media to interview those that have hit pedestrians in town, find out what happened when they struck someone, if they ever recovered from it, as I had read a book Killing People While You're Innocent, finding out some people were so traumatized by hitting a pedestrian, they went home an committed suicide. Some carried scars for the rest of their lives.

But would that be entertaining enough for their audiences?

[Thoreau424]

I watched cable news in the 80s and early 90s (CNN was about the only one back then). It was new anchors continually presenting one news report/story after another. They were able to cover a lot of ground with many stories. There were no people discussing the stories, and no emotion.

Flash forward about 15 years later, I saw cable news again, but it was 180 degrees different. There were only a few stories, tons of armchair idiots babbling, lots of arguing and childish behavior, lots of emotion, and really no news.

Whenever I get the chance in public places these days, I shut the crap off or change the channel to something completely different. It's just mind-numbing garbage. Instead of learning more, we exercise the worst of our attitudes and emotions, and learn less as our brains turn to mush.

[Rescue3]

I cannot think of a straight news program on any television medium today. And I used to run a current operations center for a government agency, responsible for knowing world news every minute of every day.

The more subtle opinionation comes in by what each outlet choses to report; the more in-your-face opinionation comes in opinion journalism. We all know the stations on the left and the right. For every Mother Jones there is a Breitbart.

The Brits had a solution for this: They made their anchors "News Readers" who were not allowed to offer opinions. But in the finest traditions of promoting 'banter,' every US news anchor is encouraged to offer at least a word or two of opinion on ever story they read. Sheppard Smith Reporting should be more accurately named Sheppard Smith Opining.

I'm retired now, which means I only watch the local news until the weather comes on. I can't stand listening to news anchors who think they are smart enough to offer opinions on stories but can't even pronounce the name of the subject involved or the legal definitions of the agendas they are pushing.