Comments on: The Real Purpose of News

By: Darren

Darren — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 01:40:27 +0000

Here’s another awesome blog about not following the news:

http://www.raptitude.com/2009/06/theres-nothing-small-about-the-world/

I’ll still scan headlines over the ‘net, but the news is nothing but marketing: the news is simply about what sells:

* Things everyone is already talking about
* Things people are afraid of at the moment
* Things that happen to famous people
* Things that give people a chance to really dislike someone
* Things that will affect people on a large scale

By: alicia

alicia — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 19:09:52 +0000

“But here’s the deal, 99.999% is so far out of my circle of influence that the only opportunity it offers is an opportunity to feel miserable.”

It’s not that simple. All the misery in the world is not outside your circle of influence. I don’t mean you should become an advocate for “making the world a better place”, but you should admit that you, too, are part of society which, as a whole, creates all this unfairness, brutality etc… You further choose not to do anything about it, because as a human being your number 1 interest is still yourself and you are mainly being nice to other people because it benefits yourself.. To sum it up: 90 % of the horrible stuff in the news is inside of your circle of influence but you don’t want to care.

By: Life Coach – Life Coach Advice on Commitment and Loving Again

Life Coach – Life Coach Advice on Commitment and Loving Again — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 09:19:16 +0000

[...] The Real Purpose of News | Life Coach Blog: The Discomfort Zone : [...]

By: batteries

batteries — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:59:23 +0000

It’s true, of course, that a newspaper is a business and the owner intends to make money with it. The main purpose should keeping tabs on a world that very much needs new sounds poking around.

By: zenhappens

zenhappens — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:10:53 +0000

Amen.
I do not watch the news (I am 38 and have never owned a tv). I have a special dislike for the majority of “news” that is reported… I refer to this as “dead baby news.” Why in the world to I need someone to tell me horrific details of depressing occurrences? I don’t. I admit that I sometimes pick up a copy of The Economist – mainly because once I found they used the word avuncular and defenestration in the same issue and it amused me greatly. Other than that I wrote a little program that searches for news that I might need such as new laws, happy news, and the like. It works well.

The only draw back is that I am completely out of the loop when it comes to most pop culture etc and my friends have fun with it.

By: Tim Brownson

Tim Brownson — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:24:57 +0000

@ Vlad – Don’t diss balloon boy or your family will be damned for all eternity and then a bit longer.

@ JBT – Yeh, yeh, yeh. Already heard it on Fox News, Twitter and in the gym locker room.

The editorial saying they didn’t think you’d make it in the New York Times was a bit worrying.

By: Johnny B. Truant

Johnny B. Truant — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:36:48 +0000

I was sick today. It’s certainly the Swine Flu. Someone alert the CDC and Coast Guard.

By: Vlad Dolezal

Vlad Dolezal — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:34:16 +0000

Heartily agreed.

I have watched the news about 2 or 3 times over the last 5 years. I was always surprised by the sheer negativity of it.

And yeah, the important stuff will reach you. (The unimportant stuff too. Like the balloon boy incident. That just got me laughing, since apparently half the US was freaking out about a boy NOT being in a balloon :) )