My Lenten news fast has been only a partial success, but it has reinforced an observation I made some months ago. Cable and many of the Internet news sources spend more time speculating on what the news could, should, might be than on what has actually happened – unless it involves a shooting or high-speed chase.
I sat down for a quick bite a few minutes ago and watched the President’s plane landing in London. There it sat with nothing much happening, but the on air commentators went on and on about what the next few days might bring including their instant foresight analysis of what all that will mean if it does or doesn’t happen. For Pete’s sake, even the Hebrew Prophets, who were prodded along by God himself, got their prognostications only partly right, and then missed a good many of those by a couple of centuries. This isn’t journalism. It’s barely one level up from middle school gossip.
And that’s my humble opinion about that. It’s time to get back to theology.
I think of TV news increasingly as the News-Entertainment-Complex, a great leviathan of organizations whose chief objective is to catch and keep my attention to satisfy their advertisers. So, yes, gossip is a critical part of this. Who doesn\’t want to pay attention to gossip?Hope your fast continues to go well.
I get most of my news from the local NPR affiliate, which I support through contributions. The contributions help keep the advertising to a sane level.I consider the \”public radio\” venue to be an oasis in a vast wasteland of sound bites, headlines, advertising, \”shout\” shows, speculation, and pontification. I enjoy exposition of issues that often involves rational conversations that may last for several minutes.I recommend it to you and your audience.