I went home this past weekend. Whenever I go home, I understand the sequences of events on a normal day at 1423 Grandridge Dr. My father gets home from work and he and my mother, brother and I watch the news for an hour or two in the evening. An hour or two. Yes, we watch Fox News.
I would now like to comment on how much I despise 24 hour news channels, and for valid reasons. Other than having to control my gag reflex while I sit at home watching Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity with my family, I have a few points to make about all of those channels, not just Fox News.
1. The hosts of those talk shows aren't journalists - they're entertainers (mostly demagogues) who present their meaningless attacks and squabbling as hard news fact. Not to mention I can imagine walking into one of those studios and instantly being asphyxiated by the suffocating self-importance floating around. Why do people want to hear "news" from a bunch of angry egotists?
2. There isn't enough breaking news to fill all 24 hours of the day - those channels fabricate the "breaking" part in order to cause sensation. This summer I watched an entire episode of some show on Fox and before every commercial break, the host talked about the exclusive Sasquatch photos he would show at the end of the program. That was their hook. Sasquatch.
3. Twenty-four hour news networks are responsible for the unfortunate mixing of tabloid celebrity rag stories with events of actual importance that take place every day in this country. I know, nothing could possibly affect me more than Britney Spears shaving her head. I can't imagine anything that would have a more personal impact on my life.
Well, I'm getting angrier the more I think about it. I'll stop in an attempt to improve my mood. But I have more reasons. Perhaps to be continued.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Home is where the fox is... in my grandmother's house.
I know what you are saying--anytime I would walk into my grandma's home, Fox was blaring and we had to speak over Bill O'Reilly.
Though I think your post is amusing, I disagree that a 24-hour news channell is not important. Having news channels like CNN and Fox encourage people to always catch up with world news. It is hard for our Internet generation to imagine not having everything at our fingertips, but for people who don't use the Internet, I feel that turning on CNN or Fox is the next best thing.
Post a Comment