Wednesday, August 18, 2010

WRANGLING


Wrangling, complaining, name calling -- I want to cover my ears.

I hate the jabber about polls and audience opinion. I'm bored with announcers getting comments from his/her guests. Sure, the guests are on opposite sides of the issue -- sure, they don't agree, but what they say is babble-jabber.

The guests are just paying attention to the annoying, insulting things that other people have expressed. They make it sound significant even though the guy who said it -- whoever he was, whatever he said is unimportant -- and what he declared authoritatively is more mumbo-jumbo, babble-jabber.

It's as if major news is what so-and-so said about so-and-so -- so the news is more about what someone said about a lying, cheating someone else -- some guy who is already, more than likely, on his/her way out of the limelight.

And dammit, worst of all -- mostly the news is news about the media person -- the announcer, reporter, or anchor -- his/her thoughts, about some event and the Twitter, Facebook comments that other celebrities have made about the event -- bla-bla-baloney blabber -- till the anchor mentions another event he'll be talking about next --"So stay tuned -- don't go away!"

Actually, I am sick and tired of the news -- reporters, anchors like a flock of mosquitoes, briefly landing, biting, flying off for fresher skin -- news alerts that aren't alerts but a squeeze of katsup on the alert to give it more flavor.

Yes. I trust Rachel Maddow and I like Chuck Gibbs, Andrea Mitchell, and Brian Williams. Yes, I tolerate John Roberts, Erica Hill and usually nod with Anderson Cooper -- sort of like the way I mostly nod with Whoopi Goldberg, and Barbara Walters.

But I haven't been watching. We usually watch at meal times and I lose my appetite. I can't help thinking all this is news about politicians who are more concerned with their jobs than the country.

And worst of all, I'm not sure if that's true, because I'm getting my news from the news which isn't news -- it's predigested opinion.

2 comments:

Carola said...

I never watch any of those shows: neither the wranglers nor the regular news. I get my news from the newspaper and NPR. It's still depressing but not as bad.

Linda Phillips said...

I used to watch CNN all day long. I finally got sick of how they turned everything into a major crisis to fill air time.

I get my news now from The New York Times Online and The Huffington Post and I get news bulletin emails from The NY Times, Thruthtout, The Washington Post and yes CNN. I get further info from Media Matters (a media watchdog website).

I watch Rachel Maddows, Keith Olbermann, John Stewart and Stephen Colbert. If there is a genuine crisis unfolding I will watch CNN.

I will never watch Fox News and have it blocked. Sometimes I watch the network news on ABC, CBS or NBC.

I am clearly a Progressive and Fox is so Right slanted, as anyone with an education, who is not a Conservative knows. They are the media arm of the Republican Party (well documented). They make up stories and comments out of whole cloth.

When "Real Time with Bill Maher" is on, on HBO, I watch that as well. He generally has people from both sides of the aisle.

I no longer read newspapers since I have a dislike for collecting paper of any kind.

I know a lot of my news is on the Left side, but many of my favorite shows, do have guests who are on both sides. Rachel and Jon are especially good at that.

I try to mentally tune out the self promoters. Sometimes I will watch Chris Mathews as he is a lot more to the center, though still a Dem...and he does have more Repub guests. But I hate noise and Chris is both loud and interruptive to his guests.

I live on the West Coast so the Sunday shows are on way to early for me although, now that I have a DVR, I really should record them. When I lived in NY, I always watched them.

I am and always have been a news junkie. I edit out the self promoters and refuse to watch the argumentative screamers.