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  1. #1
    Senior Member Ultralight's Avatar
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    News fast.

    One thing I am doing to wrestle my depression is a news fast. I figure, F--- it all. No point in reading all about the problems of the world I cannot fix.

    Thoughts?

  2. #2
    Senior Member flowerseverywhere's Avatar
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    I only watch the evening news, and bbc. And not every day

    cable news like CNN and FOX are opinion shows, with people shouting over each other and rudely interrupting bear little resemblance to real news. In a brief time you can separate them into two camps. Those who hate Trump and those who think he can do no wrong. Very little news that does not feed the ideas of whatever camp you are in. A bunch of fools masquerading as newscasters citing unnamed sources, theories and spreading rumors. Trump was a goldmine to them. His antics allow them to fill 24 hours of “breaking” news. They are in it to make money, not report factual news.

    Cable news grows on you like cancer, spreading hate and discontent making you bitter and paranoid.

    But you you can try to make a small difference every day and do some act of kindness. The large majority of people are kind and generous.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by flowerseverywhere View Post
    I only watch the evening news, and bbc. And not every daycable news like CNN and FOX are opinion shows, with people shouting over each other and rudely interrupting bear little resemblance to real news. In a brief time you can separate them into two camps.......
    That is exactly what I was thinking this morning at 2:00 while watching BBC International. Programs that purport to be ‘news’ are actually opinion shows. I did notice that some guests on BBC and sometimes the tone of voice used by the newscaster exhibits some bias but for the most part it’s ‘just the facts ma’am’. Our local news stations also reports just what happened and do not insert their opinions. For a time I listened to NPR and watched PBS news but soon realized they have ‘leanings’ too.


    I don’t need a news fast I just need to be more discerning of what information I allow into my head.

  4. #4
    Senior Member SteveinMN's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by goldensmom View Post
    Programs that purport to be ‘news’ are actually opinion shows.
    Fox Noise is really good at this: presenting themselves as a "fair and balanced" "news source" and then ducking behind the cover of "We're entertainment!" when their lack of journalistic integrity is pointed out. But they are not alone in this.

    Quote Originally Posted by goldensmom View Post
    Our local news stations also reports just what happened and do not insert their opinions. For a time I listened to NPR and watched PBS news but soon realized they have ‘leanings’ too.
    Opinions are being inserted all the time, whether or not what's being presented is labeled as "opinion". The selection of what is covered, how much space/time a report is given, its position in the paper/broadcast/site, even word choices in the report all present opinions. Leading a news report with a headline like "Muslims threaten job walkout if demands are not met" is different than burying "Muslim employees at local factory ask for time to pray during work" until just before the weather forecast. And neither report may be completely accurate.

    Quote Originally Posted by goldensmom View Post
    I don’t need a news fast I just need to be more discerning of what information I allow into my head.
    This. Unfortunately we no longer seem to teach people how to be discerning thinkers, to question sources and motives or even give some stories a quick smell test (Hilary Clinton abusing children at a Washington pizzeria? Which part of that was believable?).
    Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. - Booker T. Washington

  5. #5
    Senior Member SteveinMN's Avatar
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    I don't think anyone is handing out prizes for being unaware of one's surroundings. Like it or not, news reports what's happening around us and we should know about (most of) it. A complete fast? I'm not sure it's possible (how do you judge the veracity of what you will hear?).

    That said, if opening a bag of potato chips results in the entire bag disappearing before you know it, then keeping bags of chips around is a bad idea -- especially if you're trying to diet.

    Maybe the compromise is a small bag of chips. Or a more healthful snack.
    Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. - Booker T. Washington

  6. #6
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    I stopped watching the news during the OJ trial, i still know plenty about the world

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zoe Girl View Post
    I stopped watching the news during the OJ trial, i still know plenty about the world
    Absent news, what is the source of your plentiful knowledge?

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    Quote Originally Posted by LDAHL View Post
    Absent news, what is the source of your plentiful knowledge?
    I just don't watch TV news or listen to radio stations that are news heavy. I get too overwhelmed with my delicate, sensitive nature, LOL. I subscribe to lists, read recommended articles on Facebook actually (my FB friends are way more diverse than my in life friends), read topics on this site since it also more diverse than real life and usually someone tells me about the big stuff. When I lived in Cali and worked in a bank the other employees make sure I was up to date all the time! There was the missing pregnant wife situation in the state then, I could have actually known less about it.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zoe Girl View Post
    I just don't watch TV news or listen to radio stations that are news heavy. I get too overwhelmed with my delicate, sensitive nature, LOL. I subscribe to lists, read recommended articles on Facebook actually (my FB friends are way more diverse than my in life friends), read topics on this site since it also more diverse than real life and usually someone tells me about the big stuff. When I lived in Cali and worked in a bank the other employees make sure I was up to date all the time! There was the missing pregnant wife situation in the state then, I could have actually known less about it.
    So you get your news though a sort of osmotic process filtered through secondary or indirect
    sources?

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by LDAHL View Post
    So you get your news though a sort of osmotic process filtered through secondary or indirect
    sources?
    Everything has a bias to begin with, so if I watch Fox news I will get a different story than NPR. I look at the source, it is click-bait from FB or a reliable source. I read news on our local news station website for example. That is hard to tell these days! So I read things from people I disagree with as well as ones that support my general views.

    I know that the way news is presented can cause a lot of distress, so TV news is waaaay too much for me. However reading the same content in an article can be fine. TV and video is somehow very different, I can also read horror stories but not see them as movies.

    In an urgent local matter I have a parent who works for our 7 news channel, she will tell me at pick up!

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