Your Local Broadcast News is Making Us Stupid
“The media,” as it’s referred to, is not a monolith. We don’t just have one channel, one paper or one site with one nefarious dude pulling levers. “The media” consists of books, newspapers, magazines, television, billboards, radio, blogs, vlogs, ebooks, webcasts, podcasts and movies etc. The media is a vast and (kind of) diverse way of communicating information.
Let’s talk news. And where the majority of Americans – as in over 50 percent (by most estimates) – still get their news – from their local nightly news show. Any discussion about how unaware Americans are when it comes to news needs to have its finger pointed at the proper culprit: Your local broadcast.
Yes, everyone hates Congress but loves their Congressman. Everyone thinks “the media” is biased, wrong and awful – but tunes in to their local anchor with admiration and trust. A pox on them all, except our guy…
Last week a PublicMind FDU poll went viral with the line, “Fox News [viewers] are five-points more likely than those who watch no news at all, to incorrectly say it’s the U.S. that is bailing out European countries.” The under-reported story (buried lede as we call it in “the media”) was of those polled 67 percent said they watched their local news. And that could explain why 36 percent said they didn’t know who was bailing out Europe and only 30 percent gave the correct answer (Germany).
Did you know that Iceland is having a revolution as a direct result of the economic meltdown centered in the U.S. housing market? How about Syria being sanctioned by the Arab League? Vladamir Putin has gotten himself back on the ballot in Russia?
And it’s not just the “reading off BBC headlines” news the local news misses – it’s the actual local news: Investigative news in the public interest. News about the economy, politics and local issues.
Your local news opts to put a camera in the face of a crime victim and be a staple of “fear porn” rather than ever tackle difficult segments holding the school board/city council/mayor/state legislature/governor accountable for anything.
Why can I assume without sitting down and watching a week of your local newscast that they’re more than likely gleefully doing a recap of what happened on Dancing With the Stars/American Idol/Survivor tonight? Because your local broadcast news is more than likely ratings driven. And because of the last couple of decades of ratings driven local news our Edward R. Murrows have all become Harvey Levins.
Why are Americans not even rising to the level of ill informed and topping out at totally clueless? Because as Homo sapiens, we are effectively distracted by shiny objects and Kardashians. Plus our monkey brains got a chance to evolve this long by being on hyper-alert for danger, so we eat up any story telling us about “the hidden dangers lurking in our homes!” So of course we tune-in as told and in that way reward our local yokels for their reportage. And local yokels as Homo sapiens … also like rewards. It’s a vicious circle.
But, now as there are Americans Occupying public spaces demanding economic justice and other Americans being baffled as to why that is: it’s become clear some of the problem is our local news broadcasts.
It is completely unacceptable for a 30-minute telecast with 10 minutes of commercials and two minutes of teasers to have any minutes for a Bieber. Nothing ever involving a Real Housewife is really news. Curb the fear porn. Plus it’s absolutely journalistic malfeasance to give airtime to any alleged psychic … even when they’re an octopus.
We have to change this. We have to demand that our local news isn’t just meteorologists in skimpy (think: shiny) cocktail dresses. We have to demand real news – the less sexy kind – the kind where the white-collar criminals break into our homes with the swipe of a pen. We have to ban celebrity gossip from the 18-minutes of need-to-know information we consume each night.
And the only way to change it is from the consumer up.
Tell your local station if you want to find out about Brangelina you’ll go anywhere other than your local news broadcast. Tell them you want to know about authentic issues involving our complex global community – or just NOT “a report” what’s airing on television next week. Either way will be an improvement.
Cross posted at TinaDupuy.com
they would ban that dirty little 5-letter 'P' word.
(Palin)
Ed-words
The local media have frequently done a better job covering the Occupy movement than the national media.
In each case, of course, it's been their own local Occupation they've covered, not so much the national.
And I applaud that.
Our best defense against transnational banks and corporations are local banks and businesses. If there's a problem with the local city council - and those are exactly the problems highlighted by the Occupations - then the local people need to respond.
Democracy is too important to be entrusted to politicians.
Rise Up!
Protest!
Our little home-grown phrase is making it into the Meme category.
Here's why people choose to watch (and read) fear porn:
Because they are jaded and it takes more stimulus to get them to create even a small amount of adrenaline.
Because they are anesthatized by alcohol, medication, or simply too much ugliness for anything nice or uplifting to actually get through and make them FEEL something.
Because this has been the plan for some time; children are no longer taught to think critically or independently in school, so when they grow up they think that anything Kardashian is news, and that somehow reality shows are real.
Feel free to add reasons of your own.
"Courtesy is owed. Respect is earned. Love is given." --Unknown author, found in Guide to Texas Etiquette by Kinky Friedman
Such an appropriate phrase. I love it.
Kardashians
Who are these people and why do we "care"? I have no idea who they are, but they're always on HuffPo.
"If the US government enforced its banking laws like it did its park regulations, we wouldn't be
in this damn park in the first place." OCCUPY.!!
Whatever they are, it's gotta be far worse than any scenario that I can concoct. I'm sure the country will still care in 10 years (snark).
Why are these people even allowed to reproduce?
Isn't that some kind of sweater?
Or are you talking about how sweaters are being reproduced in foreign countries at the peril of our own textile industry? Maybe we should outsource the Kardashians. Send them to China and check back in a year or 2.
Kardashians are freaky aliens that inhabit Deep Space-9?
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
The people that care about these things, the ones who want change and are involved, don't watch local news. They gave up on the nightly murder report as a source for anything relevant and important years ago.
Local news ain't local for a lot of people. Here at the head of the Jersey Shore area (hold the snark, please), the "local" news is either NYC, Trenton or DC, miles from my town.
Local News has only two redeeming qualities:
Weather and Sports.
But in Denver, sports is the only thing that matters on TV and the local rag.
even recall. It was always about the latest car chase or something equally trivial. Once in a great while the local stations would air something of import, but the occurance was so low it wasn't worth turning in.
Ha ha. Growing up on the border, we watched Toronto news for the news and Buffalo news to see how many fires and shootings there were.
"If the US government enforced its banking laws like it did its park regulations, we wouldn't be
in this damn park in the first place." OCCUPY.!!
suffering thru RW talk radio on my commutes. I swear that I lose an IQ point a minute listening to (esp.) KKKlannity. After 15 minutes of the guy, I'm too drained to drink...
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
I'm in El Paso...
's why whatever TV time is there are usually cop shows and SciFi... at least they're honest about being fiction.
In the marketplace of ideas, too many people shop in the bargain basement.
-- Thunder BlueRose
Why, yes, I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU
http://saxman.bravepages.com
In my local rag, there was an article about how Occupy had moved into the local shopping mall. The gist of the storyline was that Occupy protesters had begun harrassing and yelling at shopppers.
A completely bogus assertion and conclusion by the newspaper.
The protestors never confronted anyone, wished everyone happy holidays and bespoke of the the message of Occupy Wall-Street to the shopping mall, ie. 99%, etc. At no time was there any confrontation or any negative "..don't spend your money" etc.
So the question lies; Why did the local rag make up a false confrontation and plaster it on the front page as a main story?
That same local rag is owned by the NY Times.
QED
In the marketplace of ideas, too many people shop in the bargain basement.
-- Thunder BlueRose
Why, yes, I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU
http://saxman.bravepages.com
definately QED
that the Icelandic protesters and voters didn't hold a referendum on giving back the money their banks stole from depositors in other countries when the house of cards, so approvingly constructed by these same voters when they were getting rich, started to collapse. Well it's back to fishing and knitting for Iceland.
Hasa Diga Eebowai
...they are far better off.
Tina,
Nice post, but, things will not change. The local news is geared toward the lowest common denominator and that is not what we need to know, but, what people will watch w/o changing the channel at the next commercial.
Ever notice how much time is spent on telling you what's coming up (teasers) instead of the actual story itself?
People do not like depressing news without an ending, i.e. the economy or corrupt government. They like stories that have an ending, i.e. a crime happened and bad guy/gal was caught.
They will never cover politics on the local level beyond covering the horse race part at election time. If they piss off a politician then they piss off an entire party and quite likely local business owners who advertise on the channel.
They cannot go after corporate corruption, like the banks, because the corporations advertise on the local news.
Just about everything we need to know is never going to get coverage because it always ties back to advertisers.
Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.
Just thinking out loud here...
But if TV news is so useless in terms of any useful information (as we all seem to agree it is), then why are they even trying to air a pseudo-"news" show in the first place. If they have to resort to Kardashians and Bradgelina to get people to watch, why not just throw on a re-run of Happy Days or something, maybe some Andy Griffith, remind us how great the 50s were and boost their ratings at the same time! Or maybe "Cops", people would think its the news anyway. If having real news is such a loss for the network, why bother? The "news" they're airing isn't doing anyone any good.
You are a thinking intelligent person. And your questions and comments make sense in that context.
The local news makes its money off of the rubes and morons who like to think they are keeping themselves informed. Or, it's for viewer dumbasses who just love the fluff, like how to slice a turkey, throw the best dinner party, decorate a Christmas tree, decorate cupcakes for the 4th of July, or find the best vacation destination, etc.
A re-run of Happy Days does not draw the ratings and local news is relatively cheap to produce given the audience it draws along with local advertisers.
The "news" they are airing is making them lots of money or they wouldn't do it. They don't care if it is doing us, the intelligent community members, any good.
Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.
I think a lot of people watch simply because the people on the other side of the TV screen keep them company and look at them straight in the eyes. They don't realize that the people on the other side are trained actors looking at a teleprompter and a big cold camera lens. If you notice, it is all about being your friend. They would tuck you into bed at night if they had the technology.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
They forgot to mention that Faux Noise viewers have much lower IQ's too.
Anyone who thinks that the U.S. is bailing out Europe is indeed stupid.
Mainstream media usually misinforms America on monetary issues.(and they are doing it again)
The Federal Reserve corporation is indeed going to "help Germany" bailout the rest of failing Europe but...
(they are NOT the U.S.A.) ...they are an international bank who will give their European buddies free money without consulting the U.S.congress.
Most people who watch mainstream news (Local or otherwise) do not know this and are actually under-informed
Ben Burntbanky has loaned trillions oF FRD's to European Bank in the past...and will continue do so in the future.
(all without even consulting congress)
the question isn't just .."who is stupid"
...it also matters
"how"
audit-prosecute-incarcerate
has a mental block about what is going on in our communities, think about the activities that are being reported. For every story that is reported there are 1000s that could be reported that aren't. I have noticed the same for over ten years.
I dont think I've seen our local news for over 15 years now. I dont even think I have local channels.
Maybe the problem is that people think that others are watching TV when a good portion of them arent even watching ANYTHING!
Its not just the local news that is rotting brains, it's the whole TV concept. Turn that thing OFF and maybe we all will be better off. Get out and LIVE!
I quit watching TV when broadcast went from analog to digital, and from what I've seen of digital broadcasting, I'm not missing anything. Since that change, I've read a lot of books, taken up a new musical instrument, lost 18 pounds walking with my dog, and completed numerous small project around the house. I stay in touch with radio, online news, blogs, and occasionally a magazine when I'm at the doctor's office.
i am afraid you are too late, most peoples heads are filled with mush, thanks to the right wing machine.
warren mosler for president
a real fourth estate, as Walter Lippman pointed out nearly 80 years ago: The media may not tell us what to think, but it does tell us what to think about. The media in the US is an oligopoly and so effectively controls the agenda that we no longer have a functioning democracy.
I hate local news shows. My mom used to watch it religiously and I always told her it was bad for you. Glad to know I was right!
Years ago it became little more than someone reading the police report, some teasers to a fluff piece, and commercials disguised as consumer information.
First they scare you; then they sell to you.
Corruption favors the wealthy.
I say:
Hooray for free markets..!!!!
audit-prosecute-incarcerate
The local TV "News" in Syracuse is 90 minutes. Half of which is video press releases.
...how do we get stupid people who sit around the house all day to watch what we want them to watch?
When are they going to watch all the good stuff like we do?
audit-prosecute-incarcerate
how do we get actual news instead of infotainment on the TV? How do we get news with actual content that serves the public interest not corporate interest? Seems at one time there was this quaint concept that a media controlled by a few but available to the many was expected to serve the public interest.
...from a basic right into a privilege that requires the user to get a licence or a permit.
...and the sale of televisions should be regulated.
audit-prosecute-incarcerate
about voting.
Rowsdower mobile, AWAY!
Quite a few years ago, maybe 20, the local news did a three-part story on garage doors, called "doors of death". THREE PARTS! (Gotta get them commercials in!)
Stories like this had everything to do with manufacturers putting auto-stop systems on their doors. It was all the talk. Know how may kids died as a result of garage doors in the entire history of their being garage doors? One. That was the very instant I stopped watching any local news, and broadcast national news, and pretty much everything else that was ratings-driven.
Now rumors have always been around, like poisoned Halloween candy (zero killed by strangers, one killed by own parent), but it's the medias JOB to report on the real and false. They have failed us, and miserably. We are a nation primarily made up of retards.
yup,,,put the garage door auto stop on the list of crony capitalism legislation that forces Americans buy shit they don't want or need and can't afford and is sometimes bad for them...
air bags...
catalytic converters...
FSC chemicals in cigarettes
garage door stoppers...
food preservatives...
aspartame...
auto insurance...
health insurance...
milk pasteurization...
GMO crops...
(feel free to add)
audit-prosecute-incarcerate
Sometimes, they get close....
What is your conceptual, continuity?
“Fox News [viewers] are five-points more likely than those who watch no news at all, to incorrectly say it’s the U.S. that is bailing out European countries.” The Federal Reserve has been bailing Euro banks out since 2008.
The Fed's latest actions in cooperating with foreign central banks to undertake liquidity swaps of dollars for foreign currencies is another reason why Congress needs enhanced power to oversee and audit the Fed. Under current law Congress cannot examine these types of agreements. Those who would argue that auditing the Fed or these agreements with central banks harms the Fed's independence should reevaluate the Fed's supposed independence when the Fed bails out Europe so soon after President Obama promised US assistance in resolving the Euro crisis. more of Ron Paul's statement:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/ron-paul-statem...
The Federal Reserve is not the USA
(they are a private bank that acts outside of congressional control)
You are actually the one who is incorrect if you assert the the US is bailing out Europe.
audit-prosecute-incarcerate
New is a joke
But where else does the USA get their money from to pay for the big ticket items like 2 lengthy wars in the middle east? The main point was brought up by Ron Paul. The TARP bailout in 2008 included billions to European banks. In the end the money printing devalues pension funds as well your purchasing power and transfers the debt onto the backs of US taxpayers in the form of debt slavery. Its a massive looting by the central banks and corporate banks of the wealth of nations. Eventually creating a feudal society.
You gotta see this to appreciate the vapidity of your local news stations and anchors...
http://youtu.be/GME5nq_oSR4?t=1m14s
"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
Incredible.
That is sad and pathetic. What's even worse is if these clueless Jack-Holes are that lazy with a bit of fluff, how do you suppose they are with hard news?
These fuckheads must have gotten their 'journalism' degrees out a Cracker Jack box.
...I CRAP bigger than you.
sure to turn on Walter Cronkite are long gone and seemingly dead forever.
Exactly. He told the truth about Vietnam and covered the Civil Rights movement. The MIC was not as monolithic then as it is today. If he did this today advertisers would be defecting from the network in record numbers.
Here's an example of how the advertisers control the message. Every Sunday a.m. on every Sabbath Gasbag show (not just NBC which they own) GE runs commercials that don't sell a product but just try to make you feel good about GE in general ("We bring good things to life"). They are not buying the ads to promote a product. They are buying commercial time to make sure they control the message.
Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.
I've seen way too many of those types of ads.
...some years ago. It was an opinion from one of their regular morons-on-the-street: "If deregulation of the media is such a big deal, why don't we hear about it on TV?"
In 1993-1994 I was taking a television production class at a community college in the bay area. One of the instructors mentioned a weather man who was on a SF station and then moved to LA. This guy had started at a much smaller station in central California before SF. This guy at that time was making 500k a year doing the weather in LA.
These people on stations in the bigger markets are not your average joe or jane. Not even close.
In England they call them news readers for good reason. Because that is what they do. Read the "news".
so bored with doing the weather he starts throwing little sticky "sunny faces" at the weatherboard and says the weather's the same today as it was yesterday and will be tomorrow and freaks out.
Too bad I couldn't find the clip.
Thank Jove for places like Crooks and liars. I check it and read a lot at least every other day. Another good news source, if I may make a suggestion, is a radio show called "This is Hell" hosted by Chuck Mertz. Check out their podcast archives at thisishell.net. It is a non-profit no commercial program on a college radio station, but he has an amazing list of guests, and does very good interviews.
And keep reading Crooks and Liars!!
Nobama 2012
I won't be back
With the exception of NPR, the local news is so lame that I actually have to turn it off. You would think that nothing was happening in Philadelphia. I have never been able to figure out why this evening's TV schedule is news. Like, who cares?
The word media is a plural. Medium is singular. "The media is" is incorrect.
dupe
all the local stations were / are good little talkers for the corporations that own them and hate Occupy Portland. Anyone who went there knows it was a mostly peaceful camp; the city however, would prefer that the homeless NOT be as visible as they were when Occupy was in the parks.
The local police chief was planning on running for mayor; the bullying actions of the police, the famous pepper spraying of a young woman, and his deliberate lie about response time derailed that within a week.
But you would never know either of these facts from KGW, KOIN or KATU - instead it was all about the mess and the cost - all the fault of the protesters, of course.
I have lost what little respect I had for the local news programs.
sports programs are anti-ows too. The crap that comes on the FOX sports station is pure propoganda. Since when do sports commentators have on "economists" to defend Cain's 999 plan? The only other choice is ESPN and the blowhard Colin Cowherd loves to blast anything that doesn't fit into his conservative mindset, which includes OWS.
Our news sources are shameless.
Silly me. Here I thought the news program was just filler until I get my next chance to watch 3 to 6 commercials in 3 minutes time.
Probably the only reason I watch TV for real news is LINK, which features AlJazeera, Democracy Now, several programs featuring Noam Chomsky and Glenn Greenwald, and other progressive newscasters and commentators. On my Dish cable, it cannot be found until after you wander up to 9410 -- that's a lot of channels to wander through after starting at channel 2, so I doubt that many viewers even know it's there. LINK is entirely supported by viewer contributions, and right now there are lots of good programs running since they're doing a fund-raiser.
Thanks, I'll check it out.
When I turn the TV at night, the local stations announces the teaser ....... "Breaking News", catch it at 5pm.
I'm thinking, why in this age of the internet would I wait until 5pm for your rinkie-dink news station to give me a cheesy sensationalized uninformative news story surrounded by used car, and Snuggy commercials, when I can simply turn on my computer and Google it.
Are there people stupid enough to actually wait for the 5 pm news to see what this big story is.
Obviously there are people too lazy, jaded, or who just don't want to bother accessing a computer to get more information about what is really going on their community.
This type of entertainment (I won't call it news) is in place to baby-sit a generation(s) razed by TV, and for those who still trust that the news anchor is going to tell them all they need to know, and that it will be true. It is comfortable and easy to do this.
The people who watch this crap don't want to be informed. They are blissful in their ignorance. Because if these news shows weren't on, they would be watching Judge Judy (believing that is a real court room) or Basketball Wives (believing these woman really act like this off camera) anyway.
TV news is crap
The worst offense, is when the local news has a story about a new product or company. While you are watching it you realize they have dedicated more time to "reporting" this product then they the rest of the stories they have aired - it has devolved into an infomercial.
Apple announcing a new version of an IPad or Ford introducing a new model is not a news story. It is just a commercial hidden in a news story.
I wish they would devote more time to what is actually happening in the community instead trying sell us crap imbedded in the news.
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