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The News Media: Searching for Its Head
I’ve historically vacillated between two roles when it comes to news consumption, junkie and luddite. An extreme balance and one that betrays a pesky ambivalent and existential bug I caught at birth. Currently I’m in a stage of being anesthetized by media. I just read a great quote in a Freakonomics comment thread that comes close to summing up my current feelings on our news saturation;
“And I am sure that I never read any memorable news in a newspaper. If we read of one man robbed, or murdered, or killed by accident, or one house burned, or one vessel wrecked, or one steamboat blown up, or one cow run over on the Western Railroad, or one mad dog killed, or one lot of grasshoppers in the winter- we never need read of another. One is enough. If you are acquainted with the principle, what do you care for a myriad instances and applications? To a philosopher all news, as it is called, is gossip, and they who edit and read it are old women over their tea.”
- Henry David Thoreau -
News no longer informs me. It confuses me. I feel like I’m running from a hungry avalanche of information detached from context and insight, just discombobulated fragments of information. Ironically, the information age has resulted in me feeling less informed. I might know lots of news, “Oh did you hear what happened,” but I do not know the subtle shades of context and relationship that give the news meaning. Media these days is like the Headless Horsemen raging throughout the countryside, searching for its head, destroying all those that gets in its path.
As a result of my news confusion “I don’t know” has become one of my favorite phrases lately. It’s quite liberating and quite honest. “I don’t know” because I don’t. I can filter the news through my direct experience and give you a subjective answer but that’s what it is, a subjective answer, based on my experiences. Hunting for The Truth on topical concerns, coming to a definitive conclusion on a matter is akin to chasing windmills. We may look at the same thing but our perspectives differ. Who then is right? The question itself is maddening. And dangerous.
So, I don’t know. It’s been my guide lately. My intuition and direct personal experiences have replaced the news. I know the birds are chirping outside my window. We’re in a relationship that I can touch and explore. Should we increase the troop levels in Iraq? That I don’t know. But I can tell you my feelings on the matter based entirely on my life experiences. Am I wrong? Am I right? Does it even matter? All depends on where you’re coming from.
Further Reading
So Sorry
But comments are currently disabled while I work out some bugs and explore the feasibility and wisdom of implementing the Intense Debate comment system. I apologize for being a buzzkill, but they'll be back up soon. You can always contact me if your about to burst with a classic riposte or feel a pressing need to reach me.
