Do You Watch The News To Actually Get "News"?

[Dayton3]

I've read things about the biases of television news channels such as MSNBC, CNN, FoxNews and the like.

Something someone said a few years ago has stuck with me.

It was that most viewers of 24 hour news channels don't actually watch them for the hard news or simple information.

Most viewers watch what they do for the "validation". That is they watch summaries of current events that are spun to conform to what they believe already.

Does anyone do this that they are aware of?

 

[Small White Car]

Well, yeah. This is why I don't watch TV news. It's not for learning. I read newspapers, mostly, and sometimes news magazines. You learn tons more.

 

[tomalak301]

The only thing I like about watching the local news is weather and sports. When it comes to cable like CNN or Fox, I really don't watch those channels but I do watch what CNBC is saying on the business front.

BTW, does anyone have great business or news type podcasts I can try. I like news talk and the Internet is where I get most of my news. Still, I have too many sports podcasts and need to branch out.

 

[Spot's Meow]

Yeah, I believe it. I know some families on both sides of the aisle that will only watch a certain channel because its anchors have the "right" opinions and analysis and the other channels are all just biased. To get away from this you either have to watch all of them (which sadly I am often exposed to since my boyfriend likes to watch programs on all of them) or none of them. Personally I don't enjoy hearing people yell back and forth at each other over issues they will never agree on and usually aren't even important, so I try to skip cable news. I watch local news, read articles from a variety of sources online, and listen to NPR occasionally. That's good enough for me.

 

[hellsgate]

I hate watching news as its nearly-always the same shit, different day.

Every now & then I'll read the Vancouver Sun for the more uplifting human interest stories about strangers reaching out to people forced out of their homes after their apartment was leveled by a suspicious fire.

The other stories that just make you wonder how the people involved somehow keep their vehicles, jobs, and marriages.

Especially after reading stories in the Vancouver Sun or Vancouver Province, like the one about local suburban home-owners forcing a homeless guy out of a church's backyard / covered front vestibule, the "Ask Ellie" advice column & the comics page.

Give me the intentionally-skewed-for-laughs entertainment shows like Jon Stewart.

 

[Mallory]

I have an hour and a half after I get my son off to school in the morning before I have to go to work. So while I drink my coffee and scan through the paper I watch 30 minutes of local news (mostly for the weather and traffic), 30 minutes of CNN Headline News (to see if anything is going on nationally) and then a final 30 minutes of regular CNN (for a little more depth on something anyway).

 

[Kommander]

Most of the time, the only "news" I watch on TV is The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Occasionally I'll flip around the other news channels. (I find Fox News amusing for some reason.) If news is biased I can usually work around it. All news sources are biased, because all people have biases, it's just a matter of degree.

As for other sources, I get my news from various internet sources, and the local morning radio show I listen to (Deminski & Doyle) with whatever news they cover.

 

[Mr. B]

I find it hard to believe consumers of TV news do it for validation. I would imagine the overwhelming majority watch Tv news because they aren't reading much of it, either in print or online.

 

[The Master of Tarquin Hill]

I watch Jim Lehrer, BBC, Rachel Maddow, and Fareed Zakaria for news and information.

I watch Olbermann for validation, or whatever you want to call it.

I watch Fox News Sunday so that I know what the opposition is going to spin in the coming week.

 

[Hermiod]

I watch the BBC and if I'm interested I'll read up on it on the Internet from multiple sources.

 

[JNG]

Most viewers watch what they do for the "validation". That is they watch summaries of current events that are spun to conform to what they believe already.

Yes, and I sure hate how it perpetuates the "us versus them" mentality that is already far too prevalent in the political arena.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

I keep CNN's regular news coverage on in the background much of the day. I don't care much for some of the openly biased pundits they have, but I can't stand any of MSNBC or FoxNews. CNN at least maintains some level of impartiality.

 

[RoJoHen]

Most of the time, the only "news" I watch on TV is The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.

Same here.

If I watch any other news, it's usually just to find out the weather.

 

[WillsBabe]

I generally try to avoid tv news. I listen to the headlines. Same with newspapers. For years and years I tried to keep myself educated and informed and have an opinion of the topics du jour. Lately (last 5 -10 years) I've become more and more disillusioned with the reporting of "news" - what makes the news, what doesn't; the editorialising; the words that are chosen to report stories; the way the stories are reported. One thing that drives me to distraction about BBC news delivery is the constant use of questions, and the way they don't just report a news item, but will have this bizarre, teasing lead in. For example: rather than saying: "A mini tornado swept across the Midlands yesterday," they will say instead; "it's a phenomena usually seen in foreign countries. It had children running for cover. The police and emergency services were inundated with calls for assistance..." Then they tell you what happened. Me, I've turned over by the second "tease" sentence. And don't get me started on the "Mary Nightingale Stance"...

 

[SPOCKED]

I listen to Howie Carr to get the news. I watch local and network "news" to get dumbed down and drooly enough so I don't even notice the bias. Plus I like the star warzy HD weather report

 

[RJDiogenes]

Yes, I watch the news to get news. Pretty tricky, huh?

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Yes, I watch the news to get news. Pretty tricky, huh?

That's crazy talk!

I watch the Weather Channel, because I hate hurricanes, and it feels good to be validated in my beliefs by like-minded individuals who also hate hurricanes and ridicule them with funny names like Bertha and Wilfred.

 

[Roshi]

I mostly get news from the radio, not TV.

 

[Captain Shaw]

Does BBC America have news and if so is it neutral?

 

[Hermiod]

Does BBC America have news and if so is it neutral?

It's just BBC World Service, isn't it ?