Deciding not to read/listen to current affairs media

[hamix]

Bar sports, entertainment, and maybe business/economics news, I hate to watch current affairs media. It either is just ideologues spouting their subjective views of life, or journalists just pushing a liberal social/political agenda.

It's like this Gaddafi thing, about how he was a dictator and how Libyans deserve to be free. But this presumes liberal democracy to be an inherent good, and that the "badness" of somebody is a completely subjective term.

is it mentally healthy not to listen to the media?

[faraway]

You know, this is exactly what I do for quite a long time - I avoid news on radio and TV as much as I can, because they make me either angry or sad. It is believed that an educated person must listen to the news. But I have lots of educated friends and relatives, who do it. They inform me immediatelly when somesthing interesting happens. I get updated anyway

[NoJobRob]

I'm doing the same thing by not watching the news. I scan the headlines from a well rounded list of sources on my iGoogle page and read the ones that interest me, but other than that I stopped paying attention. You can only take so much BS flying at you before you lose it. LOL Plus a lot of the time the folks in the media just engage in immature mud slinging and bickering, and it's pointless to even pay attention to such crap. I have better things to do, personally. Some people eat that stuff up, but me, not so much. I find it exhausting and counter-productive. Once in a while I will have a good laugh about it though. As I get older I see how phony and stilted most media pundits and politicians are on both sides of the aisle, and I think it's hilarious that a lot of people actually take them so seriously.

I miss Lou Dobbs. He was one of the only true voices of reason in the world of media/political dumb-*uckery.

[Clint Cora]

I personally like to keep on top of what's happening in the world no matter how dreadful the news are. Keeping to date helps me with perspective and also it allows me to write certain articles and sometimes incorporate latest news into my speaking presentations since many people can relate to what's happening in the world. There are always important lessons from global or local events no matter how awful they might seem.

Keeping up to date is also useful in general conversation. Those of you here who want to work on communication and conversational skills will have more topics to talk about or ask others for their opinions in latest news. News always helps in the flow of many conversations.

[hamix]

Current affairs media to me is fine, but rather I dislike newspaper columnists or television personalities. they simply spout their own beliefs and try and enforce that as some objective/absolute good. It's like Bill O'Reilly on Fox News, to him anything that isn't reminiscent of the prim and proper 1950s is evil.

I sometimes think we promote/value ideologues too much in Western culture. Does it matter if we need "spokespeople" to air their views on specific issues all the while?

[NoJobRob]

Originally Posted by hamix

Current affairs media to me is fine, but rather I dislike newspaper columnists or television personalities. they simply spout their own beliefs and try and enforce that as some objective/absolute good. It's like Bill O'Reilly on Fox News, to him anything that isn't reminiscent of the prim and proper 1950s is evil.

I sometimes think we promote/value ideologues too much in Western culture. Does it matter if we need "spokespeople" to air their views on specific issues all the while?

Remember ol' Bill's little sex scandal? He's one to talk when it comes to values and such... LOL

[True Believer]

I have been travelling for the past 9 months so not actively been watching/listening to the media.

What I have found is that when something has really struck a chord with people it has got through to me, otherwise i just go about my business not needing to know every little thing and I have found that i can still hold a great conversation.