I’m not typically one to watch the news on TV unless it’s a national tragedy or the next election. I don’t exactly know why I tend to avoid broadcast news, but I guess it’s because it doesn’t feel genuine enough to me. Half the time I watch the news I feel like I’m not getting the full story or the other side of it for that matter. Some of the most popular news channels today such as Fox News and CNN are known to have significant political bias that infects the ways in which they portray stories and research them. I don’t like the idea of watching something that is supposed to inform being rearranging into some hit piece against the other side of the political spectrum.
Another thing that puts me off of broadcast news is the culture that surrounds it. In many people’s eyes, getting on TV is one of the most significant things you can do in your life. In the pursuit of that glory, some people will commit unthinkable atrocities just so they get their five minutes of fame in the morning news. I think that some of these criminals get too much attention and coverage on television which eventually leads to other sick-minded people getting inspired, resulting in similar crimes being committed with the sole goal of getting acknowledgement.
To top it all off, in the age of post-information I can get my news from anywhere else that isn’t on the old tube. It’s not like it’s any better than some of the other sources like social media because sometimes, television news also directly gets its information from there. The best example of this is the continued misidentification of mass shooters as internet comedian, Sam Hyde, such as the instance in which CNN did exactly that while identifying the Sutherland Springs church shooter seen in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zuq2orVidg8
The image above is an example of the misinformation spread on twitter which most likely led to the CNN incident. I found the image in an article by Craig Haley on thatsnonsense.com which can be found here: Here is the fake news spreading about the Sutherland Springs shooting – ThatsNonsense.com
All in all, I think if I ever were going to watch the news on television it would have to be less political agenda driven, more informed, and tackles stories with a respectful amount of coverage.