Is it ever good? Do we usually hear good things when watching the news? Do we ever turn it on and hear….Newflash – taxes are going down! Or….Thanks for coming, but all is right with the world so we have nothing to report!
No, it’s called News but it’s never usually good news being reported. I prefer to live with the old adage….’No news is good news’, so therefore I try not to watch it too often. I seem to go through phases, either I run to turn on the TV at 6pm or I will go for a few weeks and not listen to any news. Not because I’m not interested on the goings on in the world, but mostly because I have a tendency to dwell on things and it’s just easier for me to ignore downer news for as long as I can before I have to realize that the pertinent things I’ve missed are taking effect. I get pissed off at government issues and as I am a very empathetic person, when I hear or see sad things that happen to people, it makes me very sad.
Sometimes my husband will ask me if I saw such and such on the news and I’ll say, I don’t want to know, then we get into a debate. He reiterates how important it is to stay abreast of things and I argue back that I don’t want that crap in my head right now. If I can’t change anything and have to bite it, I sometimes choose not wanting to know.
They say, you shouldn’t watch the news before going to bed. I wholeheartedly agree and have long ago given up that ritual. After all, I have enough to worry about that keeps me up at night without having to worry how I am going to fix the world.
Just my thoughts here. Anyone else have an opinion?
DGKaye©2014
DGKayewriter.com 
I’m like you. If there’s something really important happening I’ll hear about it one way or another but I rather focus on something more positive.
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Touche my fried. It’s nice to know there are others who think the same! 🙂
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same here, Carol… 🙂 I avoid watching news as there’s a lot of manipulation – everywhere!
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I don’t watch it before bed, but I do believe in following credible news sources. I find so very much upsetting, but that only makes me want to know more. I want to know more so that I may be an instrument of change. It has become difficult to find real news. The news is framed as “entertainment,” and we are fed an editorialized version of the news. This is the reason I turned away from my broadcast communications career. I was taught to report the news and refrain from giving my opinion of it.
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I like your version much better Jeannie! We have to know so much of what we hear is media hype. We must filter through the meat to get to the bones. 🙂
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I don’t ever watch the news, Debby. I do look at the NY Times headlines most days, but I haven’t been lately. Stopped listening to NPR in the car. I do continue to watch environmental issues and take part in anti-fracking work in NY. If there is an important event, I read about it, but I don’t need daily updates about our dysfunctional government or the inequality of my country that was once only found in Oligarchies. Like Jeannie, Jill Swenson quit her journalism career (in her case, tenured teaching at a university) because she couldn’t stand that the news was about sales and editorializing rather than real news. So, I think you’re making smart choices.
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Thanks Elaine, it is nice to know that I am not alone in my decision!
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