Comments on: Why I Don’t Watch the News

By: drivelocity

drivelocity — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:38:05 +0000

I check Digg several times a day and, though obviously biased, enjoy watching Olbermann and Maddow. Stewart & Colbert are also favorites.

By: Allie Osmar

Allie Osmar — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 03:22:59 +0000

You got me with that title too.

I’ve been getting a lot of my news through Twitter lately – the people I follow always seem to break it first. I also follow one mainstream news Twitter feed for the main headlines (They are usually straightforward in 140 characters), and if something interests me, I’ll find resources to read more.

I have to admit, I may be biasing my own news to a certain extent by reading writers who agree my opinions (I consider myself pretty liberal). I suppose a lot of us do this to a certain extent.

By: Cody McKibben

Cody McKibben — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:58:48 +0000

Thanks for the comments Michelle & Nicole. My title is purposefully brazen. I do get a lot of news from the web and friends though, and I read a tremendous amount. But yeah, like you said I don’t care for how much advertising or bias we have in mainstream evening news. Bias is everywhere (especially Comedy Central!), I guess we just have to be aware of it.

If you like Jon Stewart and Colbert, they actually have some of the best online offerings. You can access their sites through the Comedy Central website and watch full online episodes each week.

By: michelle goodman

michelle goodman — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 09:56:31 +0000

Hey Cody, When I first read the headline, the reporter/news junkie in me thought, “Oh noes!” But clearly you are getting the news, as are the other commenters, because John Stewart, BBC, PBS, NPR, online media outlets, etc. are giving it to you.

I think the idea of “watching the news” is a hangover from generations past, when there wasn’t a TV commercial after every 60-second news segment and radio and newspapers were the only other forms of content delivery. I can’t stand to watch the evening news any more because there is literally nothing new for me on it (I’ve already read it earlier that day on ABCNews.com, CNN.com, MSNBC, or my local paper’s website) and commercials are such a time suck. Like you guys, I only watch PBS and C-SPAN on the tube, and I get the rest from the web or NPR. (If I had Comedy Central, I would definitely watch Stewart and Colbert!)

By: Nicole

Nicole — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:13:13 +0000

Like you and Robb, I enjoy news from the BBC. I also have found that podcasts from the BBC, NPR, and The Economist are great ways to get information updates in the portions I want and on my schedule–a daily roundup of world headlines, the week’s most impacting stories, quarterly forecasts tailored to the areas I are about most like the environment, green technology forecasts, global economic predictions, etc.

I also find that more specialized/”niche” media can offer intelligent opinions, such as The Financial Times, Wallstreet Journal and Grist.org.

As for televised media, aside from the Daily Show and Colbert Report I dig the Jim Lehr Newshour in the evening and Washington Week in the morning with Gwen Ifill. Both are on PBS, as are BBC broadcasts. PBS also offers podcasts of many of its shows, like Washington Week, Frontline World, and even a podcast from Wired magazine.

Beyond these, I feel watching news channels to be a drain of brain cells as well as an insult to the intelligence of any reasonably well-informed person.

Great post Cody!

By: Cody McKibben

Cody McKibben — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:38:02 +0000

Good point, Robb! I typically enjoy BBC International. And like you, I have my homepage set to an aggregator that pulls in all the top stories from Digg and other bookmarking sites, but also from Google and Yahoo News, Wired, and Huffington Post. So, I get a lot of nerdy web junk, but when it’s important enough that people are talking about it, I also get the biggest headlines. Thanks for the comment!

By: Robb

Robb — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 17:39:34 +0000

I’m very much the same way. I can hardly stand to watch TV, but if it comes to events, I get a lot more from Comedy Central than CNN. However, watching TV in general makes me feel dumbed down and lethargic. I don’t do a good job at trying to keep myself informed, but I set my home page to BBC News. Then, I can’t help but to look at the headlines from time to time and hear about what’s going on. I feel like the BBC does a decent job at staying unbiased and reporting events without sensationalizing them. It’s worth checking out if you haven’t.