The "News" These Days

It seems to me that perhaps we need to start putting quotes around what passes as the news, at least here in the United States.

Not that it does not exist. You can get "just the fact" news ere and there. On PBS, perhaps. Maybe NPR, even. But you really have to search.

What I mean by actual news is separate, and I mean completely separate, from what passes as "news" these days.

I don't like my news light and fluffy. Just the facts.

Yet, turn on the television and tune into the "news", and unless you really go out of your way to find a higher level of news professionalism, what you'll get are tv personalities, smiling, showing their wit in annoying banter, and too often voicing their opinions on subject matter, to boot. Not that they aren't entitled to their opinions. Of course they are. But on what I would consider the news, I don't want to hear it. Nor do I want to be entertained. Just the facts, and let the viewer make their own minds up.

A large part of the problem here in America in particular is that everyone seems to want to be catered to. Everyone expects to be entertained.

Where is that Walter Cronkite, who just presents what happens in the world, and very rarely, if ever, voices any opinion on it? He earned the trust of the entire nation, because he would simply give the news, and nothing else. No witty banter. he was not trying to entertain you, or hint at what to think about it. Just the facts, and you make your own mind up.

It bothers me when news anchors give their opinions, even when I agree with them. It's just not their place to voice it. That's not news, that's opinion. I may agree with you, but that is not what I tuned in to see.

You might think that at least in black and white print, there would be something of greater substance. But if so, you would be wrong.

Here are some headlines on the "news" of certain websites that seemed good examples to share:

Actress Geena Davis critical of Oscar host (Yahoo, March 4, 2013)

7 sentences that sound crazy but are still grammatical (Yahoo, March 4, 2013)

Jennifer Lopez: Friendship Is 'A Priceless Thing To Have!' (Yahoo, March 4, 2013)

Bradley Cooper: 'I Don't Want To Win An Oscar' (Yahoo, March 4, 2013)

Halle Berry: 'I'm In' For X-Men: Days Of Future Past  (Yahoo, March 4, 2013)

Saint Laurent goes grunge for winter, Stella sees volume (Reuters, March 4, 2013)

Oprah Stirred By New Cooking Machine (ABC News, March 4, 2013

Fashion Faceoff: Kendall Jenner vs. Jessica Biel (Yahoo, March 4, 2013 -This one I found among the illustrated features on the top of the Yahoo website, under "Two celebs caught in the same ruffled gown")

The Walking Dead: Lennie James Returns As Morgan (Yahoo, March 4, 2013 -This one was nestled between a story about the pope and the baby that apparently was cured of HIV)

Nothin’ but net: Teen’s winning shot goes viral - with a video link (NBC News home page, March 4, 2013)

"Glee" and "Archie" bridge worlds of comics and TV (CBS News home page, March 4, 2013)

Here was a headline of a featured "news" story for CNN that I found today, just beneath an article on President Obama:

Skiing's pop queen Maze does it her way


Can't seem to have the "news" these days without the Biebmeister, right? Here are some thought-provoking headlines regarding this central figure in our daily lives::

Justin Bieber Blames ‘Dummies’ for Party Fiasco (ABC "News", March 4, 2013)

Justin Bieber Sounds Off On His 'Worst Birthday' (Yahoo, March 4, 2013)

Pretty deep.

Here's my personal favorite, the one that first got me thinking about this particular subject, with the sheer ludicrous nature of such a "news" story::

Miley Cyrus Dyes Her Hair Blue – Er – Platinum (Yahoo, March 4, 2013)

Hard-hitting journalism at it's best, n'est ce pas?

Surprisingly, FOX News did not have any patently absurd, screaming headlines that I caught, although their reputation for absurd and/or highly opinionated, "fair and balanced" stories that pass as the "news" precedes them.

It is hard not to come to the conclusion that someone out there really does not want us to think all that much about real issues that affect us, in our everyday lives. I would venture to say that the majority of people only have a superficial understanding of the issues out there. How else could you explain the consistency with which they vote against their own interests, and give away gains that were fought for over decades and even centuries, all for the pipe dream that they will be rich and successful? We become so self-absorbed, and unthinking, that it becomes a very bad habit. And bad habits are hard to break. So, we have been dragging our feet so much, that they are not stuck in the mud. Progress forward cannot be achieved, as we find ourselves sinking. All because we were not, and are not, thinking.

Yet, this approach is being broadcast to an increasingly impatient world, via more modern technology and the general shrinking quality of our world. There no longer are any illusions about where we are in our thinking. People still look to Hollywood and the arts in this country, because we are still innovators in that field. But our politics? It is seen as a bad joke. I heard it said somewhere that we are to the world what Texas is to the United States - a swaggering territory that feels entitled to impose it's vision on the rest of the world, and does not recognize that the laughter increasingly is measured at us, not with us.

The country has been going in the wrong direction for a long time now, and although it would go too far to suggest that the watered down news is responsible for this, I think it would be fair to point out that nowhere else is the fluffy and superficial approach to crucial issues in thsi country more apparent than when you witness the evening "news", or start your day with those hours long morning "news" programs.
And we wonder why so much of the rest of the world thinks we are dumb and self-absorbed? Look at the problems facing this country, and ask if these grim realities are reflected in the "news" headlines of the day.