Tuesday, April 30, 2013

NEWS?

I miss the early days of CNN when I could turn on the TV any time and actually see news stories. I know, everyone says because people get their news now from the Internet they don't watch the evening news like they used to (and I still do), but the original CNN was like the Internet in that it was constantly reporting news stories as they broke and covering a lot of ground.

The news I get online seems fragmented, narrowly focused and endlessly—like network and especially cable news now—more commentary than news. It also covers an extremely limited number of stories and then either repeats them ad infinitum or has endless commentary from the same old talking heads.

There are exceptions. But they are few, and limited as well by their bosses and the corporations they serve. I know this isn't a new perspective, and like duh we live in a corporatocracy so that's the way it is, but I just really miss those old days of early CNN when I could turn the TV on anytime and see what was going on in the world. And as limited as the amount of stories and the focus seemed then, it now seems way expansive compared to where we are now.

23 comments:

tom said...

Just like the old MTV that actually had a wide variety of music videos and now.....

I agree. Not much in depth and far too much talk.

JIm said...
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Bob said...

Yeh,it's sad and frightening. It used to be that "no news is good news." Now it's, "no news is bad news."

PBS and Frontline helps.

Oh. And poor Jim. Apparently his conservative saints are deaf to prayers.

- Bob

Robert G. Zuckerman said...

When I was in Paris a few years back in the hotel on TV every six channels it switched to a different country/network. Could see news from all over the world, and was very informative.

JIm said...
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AlamedaTom said...

NPR and PBS are still pretty good. And on the international front, BBC is worth a poke.

~ Willy

Lally said...

Yea, I hear ya Bob. And Willy, I was gonna say NPR and BBC and PBS is where I get a little more in depth stuff and with the BBC a wider coverage. And Robert, I remember the first time I went to Europe and how expansive their concept of news was because it incorporated the entire world, not just the USA or Western developed countries etc. with US news only a small part. Refreshing.

JenW said...

I remember seeing Christiane Amanpour in the thick of it always, it seemed- impressive reporting & a good husband match too. Well at least we can once again hear that magnificent voice introducing CNN like back in the day. I must add I saw James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave a couple years ago in Driving Miss Daisy- it was such a treat to watch those two on stage. Loved Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman too...

JIm said...
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Lally said...

Would you believe the stalker continues to think that snow in May where he lives disproves global warming and the climate change it is bringing about? It's like not just science but every attempt I and others have made on this blog to explain that "global warming" doesn't mean it's hot everywhere at once, it means the average temperature has been and is continuing to rise yearly in greater increments and faster than ever before, in our time or recent centuries, and is leading to changes in the ways the wind and water currents flow, which leads to extreme weather patterns, including snowstorms in May and summer weather in January etc. That is way too complex an idea for the kinds of minds, as shown in various studies, that conservatives have, which rely on simple black and white statements and cannot process more nuanced or complex ideas.

JIm said...
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JIm said...
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tom said...

Hansen, really Jim? The guy who is retiring to spend his time fighting global warming. (not fighting against the belief) Please provide a link to this statement.

tom said...

Oh, and what Hansen says does not negate the fact of global warming.

JIm said...
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Lally said...

Notice he dropped the Hansen as soon as he was challenged and threw in some misdirection from rightwing sources etc. etc. etc. The usual. Deleted.

JIm said...
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JIm said...
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JIm said...
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Robert G. Zuckerman said...

Here's some real news: Money is not wealth. Money is an intermediary, a symbol, a contrivance. A nation is wealthy when there is well being for all. When people are not suffering. When children can go to school without being shot. When guns and killing are not deified and glorified. Money is not real wealth. Well being and harmony are pure wealth and should be the highest priority in the land. Everything else is distraction.

Lally said...

Amen Robert

Miles said...

Double Amen Robert! Thanks for making it plain.

JIm said...
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