The year is 2010.
More and more people are getting their news from the Internet. And many traditional media sources are greatly suffering as a result.
It's no wonder. Fresh information is constantly at our fingertips. I am puzzled why anyone would watch television news or read newspapers any more.
I NEVER watch television news. I NEVER buy a newspaper.
But I happened to be in front of a television the other day while waiting on my car at an oil change shop.
The local news was on, so I watched out of the corner of my eye while checking my email on my iPhone.
What I heard solidified my decision to tune out television news.
Here were the first five stories of the broadcast...
1) There had been a kidnapping in the city. No leads on who took the child.
2) A fatal car wreck claimed the lives of two young people driving an SUV.
3) A rare meningitis death took the life of a co-ed at Colorado State University.
4) A man was arrested in a "murder for hire" case.
5) One of the trapped miners didn't want to be rescued. It turns out his wife discovered he had a mistress while he was still trapped.
After ten minutes of this, I felt completely and utterly traumatized.
Bad news, bad news and more bad news. People are drawn to it like a moth to a flame. That's why the ridiculous tabloids sell so well.
The news is BAD! At least that's what the networks would have you believe. After all, bad news SELLS.
It's no wonder people are so depressed. If you consume this kind of "news" day after day, it will affect you negatively. That much negativity would depress anyone!
My advice?
Turn off the television. While you are at it, stop wasting your time on Ellen, Oprah and soap operas. I understand watching a few hours of television each week, but hours each day?
Do something with your life. Make a difference for someone else. Just stop allowing those only interested in your money to dictate how you think and feel.
Parents, get your kids away from the television set. They are being fed so many bad messages from the media. And the messages of consumption perpetuated by advertisers are even worse.
But, I rant and digress.
The revolution has arrived. Old media is dead. We are the new media.
The news isn't bad. But the people bringing it to us are.
What are your thoughts? Do you watch television news? How does it affect you?
I LOVE this post! We stopped watching the news quite a while ago; although I do turn on GMA for about 20 minutes in the morning before heading out to take my son to school but that's about it.
But you are so right! It is depressing and utterly negative; and in many cases completely inappropriate for children. Sometimes I wonder how they get away with reporting some of the things that they do.
Now that said, here in our household, the kid shows are still on, mainly PBS and SpongeBob. And us adults do have our "favorite" shows like Biggest Loser and Lie to Me. Some of the shows like "Lie to Me" are recorded for later viewing AFTER the 7-year-old is in bed.
But I also know that we, as a family, are in the minority. Which is sad.
None the less, great post and I'm at least one person on the planet that agrees with you!
- Kristine
The ONLY news I'll watch on TV any more is the morning network "magazine" shows. You know -- Today, CBS This Morning, Good Morning America. These shows only give you 10 minutes or so of news each hour. The rest of the show is interesting, usually entertaining, and often filled with inspirational stories and interviews that inspire.
Or none at all.
Cable news? All of it's a scam these days. As I said in a recent editorial, they tend to cover 8 or 10 new stories a day, then fill the REST of the 24 hours with talking heads telling you what to think about the news.
It's cheaper. And sadly it draws more viewers than hard news because of the DRAMA they "create" with the talking heads in the studio.
And it's all a negative, divisive waste of time and energy.
I agree whole-heartedly, Joel. WE are the new media. A multitude of viewpoints and experiences exploring our worlds together openly.
Love it! We couldn't be living in a better time!
Joel, I told my mother years ago that she was always depressed and anxious because of her constant tv-watching. Evening news from 5-7 EVERY NIGHT, and cable news the rest of the evening.
Glad to hear someone else saying this
I find sometimes there are good information being broadcast on the networks but in order to get 10 minutes of good information you have to watch an 45 minutes of negative depressing news. Just not worth it.
Lately my TV schedule is this (at home) Mickey Mouse Clubhouse followed by Dora the Explorer. At the age of 2 my daughter has outgrown Elmo and his friends.
I usually don't watch too much TV at the fire station. I spend my down at the fire station working on my sites and the occasional Call of Duty or if we rent a movie. Yes I know I am at work, but it is a 24 hour shift and we do have down time. Before you say you want my job think about going into burning buildings for a living.
When I do get a chance to watch adult TV its usually National News so I can see the newest Democratic blunder and shake my head in wonder when I see Obama.
I agree. It's not balanced news at all. Often it's not even stuff that makes us better people, citizens, parents, workers... it's just the old "if it bleeds, it leads" dealio. I can do without that.
In her book, "Free-Range Kids" author Lenore Skenazy did a whole section on the TV news and how it perverts our beliefs about the world. Enough is enough!
I have only had TV for 5 years in the last 30. For 15 straight years my wife and I have not purchased cable or satellite. When TV is around it does two thing: 1. suck you in and waist hours of your time. 2. Keep you on the edge of drama and disaster.
"The world according to TV News" is not the world I know. If is was we would never leave the house! Years ago I lived in Seattle WA and the WTO meeting had riots and drama around it. Friends called us from all over the US to find out if we were OK. We where unaware of the goings on on a few blocks of downtown Seattle. The news made is look like the whole city was involve. In fact, if you where just a few blocks away you probably would not even know what was going on. This is how news is when we see chanting and anti this or that around the world.
John Prine sang it best: Blow it the TV, Throw away the paper, move to the country...
Hi Joel:
I NEVER watch TV - and will not expose my kids to it. The news, well, its as toxic as the Incredible Hulk.
Please readers - watch very carefully the screen time and the publications your kids are exposed to!
Believe, when you decide to go this way - you may find opposition on every corner. I have had comments made such as "come on...that show, or that video game...is a normal part of pop culture. Do you want you kids to grow up weird?" Just meet these comments in a very enrolling, and CERTAIN way. Don't ever get in a stand-off, just calmly explain to them that all of the research shows that screen exposure has shown to change brain chemistry and the news is too negative. Tell them that you never read the news and it has not EVER posed a problem to you or caused you to be "misinformed"
Stay strong - and stay smart. Ditch TV and newspapers! You'll notice a change in your home in days!
Take Care Joel - and thanks!
Dr. Kelly
Great post. I do not have cable so the only channels I can pick up is the Spanish network and the Christian channel TBN. I have not had cable for 4 years now. As you stated there is to many depressing traumatizing things on television.
Joel,
Great post and I whole heartedly agree with you. Not only is the news depressing you can't be sure what you're being told is true anymore. There's always a political agenda.
The major news outlets will continue to decline in their ratings and influence and don't think that doesn't PO them. I'll make a prediction that by 2020 most of the majors will have ceased to exist in their present form and cable providers will be little more than glorified ISPs, as everyone moves to the internet for all of their entertainment. It's already begun. I hate to tell you how many folks I've met recently that have done away entirely with cable and signed up for NetFlix.
The latest versions of flat screen TVs with internet apps are making it all possible. Throw in a DVR and you don't have to worry when anything comes on, just set and forget.
Are you listening Sony, Vizio, LG? We need more internet apps.
Not only do I NOT watch the news, if it accidentally comes on, I run like John Wall to turn the channel. The depressing news, biased reporting, and overall sadness always drags me down with it so I even mute news previews.. and by all means look away. These barbarians will show anything!
Great post!
In my opinion they feed us this news because they realize the power of belief that people have. The system PROGRAMS us direct that belief toward its agenda-money. I wouldnt be suprised with the advent of federally mandated digital switch over that now advertisements, news and messages are being intermeshed seamlessly pixel by pixel instead of by frame, to influence us -actually running commercials WHILE watching the show the commercials sponsor.
So yeah, I agree, waste of time and not healthy.
I am like you, and turned the news off a long time a go.
I have also turned off people that like to relate bad news. When they start to relate a bad news story I let them know that I do not watch the news.
It is interesting how the news focuses on the 8.5% of the people that are unemployed. Making the picture look worse than it is.
Over 90% of the working force are working and paying their mortgages.
If you know someone that is not doing well get them to turn off the news for a week and test out how they are doing then.
I've spent the last 10 years learning about health and healthy living, as I am a 15 year cancer survivor.
I only watch the local news to see how much they lie about what we should do to stay healthy, and they mimic what Big Pharma dictates.
Like, when they say you must get your flu shot and to make sure you get your kids vaccinated, but they never tell you that you should avoid all the food that is contaminated with poison chemicals that is causing all the cancer and diseases this country is plagued with.
We need to tune out that stuff and discover what life changing information you can get from surfing the internet.By going back to organic food, like we used to eat when I was young, before big corporations took over our food supply, has made a huge change in my health.
It has kept the cancer at bay and at 77 now, I feel better then I did for many years in the past. So I watch very little TV, because I am surfing for more healthy info to tell my website visitors about.
I think TV is putting fear into the peoples minds and causing them to not look for a better way of life. There is just to much drama on the tube, and it creates a fantasy world that don't exist in the real world.
GREAT POST! Joel, we don't even own a TV! I wouldn't think of bringing all the problems of the world in to my home. My children smile! My wife smiles. I smile. And do you know why? Because I don't have a TV.
What a time waster!
My son who is almost 15 owns 2 small businesses that he operates for his friends. When he is bored he does work for his customers. He's so in demand that he hires other children to help him stay on top of the work load.
And do you know why?
Because I never brought a TV in to my home!
EVER.
It's not just the news. It's everything. It's a lifestyle that we are being forced fed, want it, or not.
Believe me a person could be so happy and content if they learned to open their mouth and talk to God in their own words.
I'm not kidding!
Do you realize with what kind of crystal clarity a person can arrive at if they speak to God? People would almost eliminate their need to go to their therapist if they implemented this very simple advice. Talk to God in your own words. Mouth loud, in a place where no one will hear you. And practice this daily. You will witness open miracles. I GUARANTEE it!
I speak from much experience.
The TV and the news only serve to create new questions that you will have a hard time answering? You will only feel miserable after watching TV or the news. So why even start to begin with?
Your family will be far more creative and self sufficient if you don't expose their minds to poison, that you will only regret after it's far too late! Be smart and don't solve a problem that you could have avoided creating in the first place!
Enjoy life. Don't worry. Be happy!
Great points Joel. Tonight I am hosting a free interview with Mickey Huff of the Media Freedom Foundation, and we'll be talking about these issues in depth. Registration here: http://www.BeTheMedia.org
Hey Joel,
You hit the nail on the head. We need to be aware of events to a degree,
so we can pray for the situation among other things. But we don't need to inudate ourselves with it constantly.
Like you basically said, no wonder a good number of people are mad, sad, depressed, and not to mention... unsuccessful . They need to "Tune Out" the old media and "Tune In" to the New Media.
Just had to vent on this serious topic.
Thanks Joel, keep'um coming,
Ron Brantley
While your post is true, Joel - this is nothing new.
Remember the old adage?...
"If it bleeds, it leads"!
The media is all about sensationalism - has been for a long time.
-Kevin
I stopped watching TV news years ago. I get all the news I need from ESPN. I only buy the Sunday paper. I cut out the coupons read the gardening column, the arts & theater section, and the book reviews. I throw out the part with the news. I get traffic and weather updates on by Blackberry along with local LI news. The rest is garbage.
Who care what the politicians are saying? Whatever it is they are lying anyway. And don't get me started on the news we are being fed about the economy. I blame the media the most for the poor business climate in this country right now. They are constantly telling people that they can't afford to spend money, that they will inevitably loose their job and that they will NEVER be able to retire.
The pages of woman's magazines are covered with 10 ways to save more money type articles. That is why I only read Martha Stewart Living. TV and print media are terrorizing the country.
Everyone just do what Joel tells you...Do good things!
I find your input is the correct idea. Many years ago I was taught to believe only half what you see , nothing you hear and very little you read.
I watch TV very selectively I prefer laughter , never soaps and no news.
My set stays tuned to religious channels.
The trash you get on news and regular reality channels is for the birds. I have better things to think about and do than to indulge in that mess.
What can we do to clean up the airwaves? Foul language, indecent commercials, programs that lead to behavior unexceptable to decent society. As participates in this countries media we need to call a halt to all of this.
I had hoped that if enough people quite watching this trash it would change. We need to put pressure on there sponsors. If the sponsors quite buying time they would have to change.
Joel,
I agree. Doom and gloom, gossip and innuendo, tsssk tsssk this and that. They pander to the lowest human interests. It's a waste of time, as if someone or something were trying to distract us from more uplifting endeavors.
SpongeBob is good. That's about it.
Joel,
Thanks for such a great post! I agree with you 100%. I had to stop watching news and news-type shows because my personal stress level was off the charts and I didn't need the added stress. Gradually, I have begun to feel better. Prior to this, I had not realized how stressed watching these shows made me feel.
I have my email set up to receive local news alerts so I'll be notified if there is a weather emergency or something else I really need to know. Other than that, it's off my radar screen. Same with TV. We no longer have cable and I only watch select episodes of my favorite network shows. I have a subscription to Netflix so I can choose my own movies/shows when I want to watch something for entertainment.
I'm finding that I have so much more time to do things I really want to do. Although TV can be good in some instances, it can certainly steal your time before you realize what's happening.
Joel,
Watching TV will cause you to have two very serious medical problems - both of which you DO NOT want to have. I wrote a short article on my website a few weeks back.
Check it out at: http://www.destinedweightloss.com/2010/09/this-daily-habit-will-shorten-your-life.html
Great topic!
-Joseph J. Paun, MS, DC
If you want to see much of what the mainstream media is not covering, go to Accuracy In Media http://www.aim.org/
If you want to see how biased and partisan the mainstream media has become, go to this website. They document and fact check all of the drivel that passes for news these days.
Bad news make people feel anxious so they return for more news from the same source. It is an endless loop until you break from it. Good news make you feel positive but bad news gives you a sense of insecurity and wanting to know more (of bad news). The news media know all that and feed on that just like vampires feed on blood.
I am not in the states but the same situation is in the news anywhere in the worlds. It is not smart to close your eyes to everything that happens but do you really need that much of junk information - not really, it simply drains your potentials.
Joel -- you are SO right! Glad to hear you feel that way because I do too.
Our world needs to hear more positive, uplifting stories. At the least, we need a more balanced news outlook. Negativity only draws more negativity. Our energy gets affected by others, and it's vital to keep our energy upbeat so we can achieve positive outcomes. Thanks again for your post! Our company focuses on helping share stories from nonprofits who are making a difference. If more like-minded people come together,
we can create change... and get these positive stories out there.
Joel,
You are SPOT ON! We quit the newspaper a couple of years ago for the very reasons you mentioned. Since bad news sells, that's almost all that was in the local rag.
As for the IDIOT box, I personally believe television is responsible, in a large part, for the dumbing down of the future generations of our country. I don't give television all the credit as I believe they have a 50/50 partner with liberal educators who know nothing but what they learned in school and have NO practical experience... and I digress!
Keep on with the great posts!
David in Maryland
I've said for a long time that newscasters ... especially local newscasters .. are domestic terrorists!
Thyey survive because they can put fear in the hearts of the masses.
I was smiling reading your post. It is TRUE:
The BAD news make "NEWS", the GOOD mews don't make "NEWS"... LOL this is the media's mentality... so you are right, why to listen, the tragedy is with the new generation - our kids, who fill left out if they don't comment the last violent movie on TV...
Regards
Michey
Joel,
It's never a good idea to watch the news on TV or to buy a newspaper because not only are the headlines so negative, but also none of those five headlines you posted, in my humble opinion, are newsworthy, they are irrelevant to me. I'd rather hear about how much the price of silver could go up than about the recession even though both are related, so when I'm forced to comment about something negative, I do my best to talk about a positive that will come out of the negative. The recession is the best example, when I'm asked to comment on it, I comment on how silver goes up in price during hard economic times, therefore, it turns what would otherwise be a negative discussion into a positive. This example is the most intriguing example I've ever used because most people are curious when they find out how a positive can come out of a perceived negative event such as the recession and when I start talking about the possibility of silver being used in circulation because of hyperinflation, I am sometimes accusing of having a doom and gloom perspective, than I turn around and explain how it's actually doom and boom.
Ben the Anit-Guru
Great post Joel - your point is exactly right. I limit news to see political headlines at 6pm and analysis at 8pm. Always watch via DVR, so the advertisers might as well stop wasting their money trying to sell me anything in that format.
What do you think the impact is when Google TV kicks in??? Personally I think that most people will cxl their cable package and get info from the Internet on their TV set - then instead of listening passively as someone tells them what the news means to them, they'll fire up the social network and discuss it among friends.
News on TV? It's not news, it's BS parading as news.
Mindless drivel and red herrings taking away our attention from things that truly matter...
Like how the FED is driving us to hyperinflation...
Why & how Monsanto is destroying the food supply...
Why the "War on Terror" is a hoax, and how our government propped up the very groups and leaders we are now so arduously bent on destroying...
How we are being turned into a nation of sniveling snitches, unable to lift a finger against the tide of government surveillance being thrown at us...
Why our kids are becoming porcine, diabetic dopes...
You know... little things like that...
I totally, totally agree. It should be called The Bad News at Ten.
Have you also noticed that the newsreaders seem to be trained in morose facial expressions while reading the news and then the last 10 seconds of the programm is dedicated to the 'happy' portion of news for the day where they have obviously been to the same school of forced and awkward smiles as Gordon Brown.
We cancelled the newspapers about 10 years ago because they only concentrated on 'bad news'. Then the tv was turned off shortly afterwards because we recognised that it was wasting time. We ended up with time to paint, read, take up hobbies and play with our son and engage in real conversations. Did we miss it? Well, when people talked about shows they'd seen such as 'Lost' and we had never even heard of them, it required us to explain, along with odd looks from them in return. No, we don't miss the lost hours one bit.
Too many internet people here. And there is no voice of housemaids, not capable to move mouse :)
Yes, I don't remember when I had my last TV. Probably never, because previous ones were parents'.
I really had TV tuner to watch cable TV on my computer monitor - mostly NatGeo and Discovery, but left it in home country (I moved recently). So, I'm absolute "no-TV" guy. News - headlines on news sites. Even no need to read details.
One of drawbacks of "no-TV" - I started to like various video tutorials (many marketers sell) less. They take too much time for small piece of information (if it is printed - it would take 2 paragraphs, if it is said and shown - it is 2 minutes :) ).
TV news has become cartoon-like, with overly made up talking heads posing for the cameras on 'Star Trek' like sets. It's equally as unwatchable as unlistenable. 99% of all news stories are based upon fear and death, with the usual throwaway 'feel good' story at the end. Even the Weather Channel now hypes every storm to heights beyond what any sane person would consider to be 'common sense'. But they have their Global Warming agenda to propagandize. .............No wonder the Daily Show and Colbert have become such hits..
Death to corporate media. Long live talk radio, YouTube, and Blogs.
Hey, Joel. Too late. I stopped watching TV about 5 years ago. Not just the news, TV in general. And I don't play Farmville on FB. So, what the heck do I do?
I blog, read Joel Comm books ("Adsense Code" is outstanding for internet minded people, sorry still have to read "Ka-Ching") and make money on internet.
That's all I want to do these days. That's how 20 years of debugging software influenced me.
I agree - regular broadcast news sucks. Soaps - what a waste of time.
However, Oprah and a few others are different. She has been on TV for 20+ years and shouldn't be put in the same category as network news. She sometimes covers inspirational and informative subjects and rarely takes a negative, biased rant on her stories. I rarely watch TV but if I come across her show I will "tune in" to see if the subject she is discussing is interesting to me.
Ever since myself and my family have stopped watching the evening news, stopped buying / subscribing to the newspaper, and started working on trying to severely limit TV exposure altogether...our attitudes have been lighter, more positive, and we find ourselves going to the park more often, leaving the house more often to enjoy time as a family.
What a revelation.
Great post Joel.
Watch a perfect addition to what Joel is saying, spoken by the great Frank Kern.
http://frankkernsuccess.com
And this is the reason people like John Stewart and Robert Colbert are so popular... they take the crappy news and at least attempt to make something entertaining and lighthearted out of it... albeit with their own spin, but it's much easier to swallow this way
I also agree with you and all the other comments. I will watch a couple of shows a week and a sports game once in a while, the history and discovery channels but thats about it. The biggest change is get that TV out of your bedroom !!! If you fall asleep watching something bad, scary or sad, you will wake up feeling that way in the morning. Your sub conscious mind never sleeps, it runs everything while your conscious mind rests. Go to bed with positive thoughts and awake refreshed.
Yes, Joel, thank goodness for online news because it keeps the traditional media honest. Until recently, I did not understand how TV and Newspapers were minipulating us and giving us news they want us to hear. With the internet, you can find out the other side of the issue and hopefully find the truth.
This is so true for American TV News. You never get the news that tell you what is going on in the world. Being half Canadian whenever I go back to Canada you always get educated on what is happening in the world. When I compare the two United States and Canadian News - it amazes me how much Americans are left in the dark. If you ever find yourself in Canada take a look you will be amazed also.
Joel,
I read the NY Times online almost daily, listen to the local news for 1/2 hour and PBS for one hour. Also enjoy Rachel Maddow because she is enlightening and I can research what she reports. Have not bought nor subscribed to a newspaper in years.
I am active in this political campaign. Need to know who is lying so I can make an informed decision. Am interested in history. Read constantly. Am a genealogist and, therefore, a researcher.
Yes, the TV news is negative garbage. We, the American people, are partly to blame because we seem to revel in negativity. I, for one, do not know why.
You are absolutely correct, i am a doctor and we've told patients for years to stop watching the news for 10 days and see if the world ends and notice how much better they feel. although there are bad things happening economically, there are people like Joel to help us out of it. Thank you for all you do.
If anyone is interested in learning truths about how can economically fix things you can get in your golf cart and drive over to http://www.TheElevationGroupMikeDillard.com
Eric
Joel, I agree. The TV is bad news for all that care to be hooked in by all the doom and gloom. I stay away from it as much as I can and when it is on around me I barely pay attention.
Joel, great article and I couldn't agree more. I turn the local news on at 11 every night, most of the time I actually miss all of it, or more accurately, tune it out. If I'm lucky to be paying attention, I'll catch the weather and on Friday nights the local football games. I do typically have GMA on every morning, but again,only pay attention to something of interest, and it's rarely I ever hear any "news". Any really major news is lasted all over the internet, so if its' something important, I'll see it. I listen mostly to find out what blunders our local politicians are up to, just for a good laugh really! I quite reading the newspaper years ago. Thanks for this post and so glad to know I'm not the only one who stays in the dark about the "bad news" going on.
News is no longer news. It has become a mash up of things we can't do anything about, celebrity screw ups, and disjointed facts that lean one way or another politically, depending on the network. I remember seeing entertainment stories topping the news, while I was reading first hand accounts of street to street skirmishing in Iran after the election there, and wondering why the media was not talking about that. We lost several very important and influential people this year, but I bet most people never noticed the loss of Norman Borlaug, the man that the United Nations credited with saving more lives than any human being in history. The media failed to say much of anything about the man! But the moment an entertainer passes on, we here nothing else for days.
I prefer to get my news from the folks who are at the scene as it happens. Even if the first account is not accurate, someone else will come along with a new account, and we can decide what we think really happened, and we get to decide what is news and what is not!
Great post Joel!
I've been trying to tell people about the 'evils' of television 'news' for a long time...
The late (great) Frank Zappa wrote a great song (I'm The Slime), about this very subject. Here's a little sample of the lyrics:-
"I may be vile and pernicious
But you can't look away
I make you think Im delicious
With the stuff that I say
I am the best you can get
Have you guessed me yet?
I am the slime oozin out
From your tv set"
Television and tabloid news is BAD. New(s) media is GOOD
All I can say is AMEN to your post. Well Said. Could n't have put it in any better way.
The negative energy from TV News these days is obnoxious.
Hi Joel,
Absolutely agree. My wife and I have not watched the news apart from the odd snippet for about 6 months now and our lives have been enhanced one hundred fold. Our income from our online businesses has risen too! No coincidence there methinks!
I really do think that the media and governments like to feed us this c**p to keep us "down there" beholden to their power games. If only we could get the world to think positively all the time what a different world it would be,
We all know that bad stuff goes on but hey do we need to be spoon fed it 24/7
Ditch the news and enhance your life - you will not regret it.
May your wealth grow with you
Jonathan Lake
Hi Joel,
I've been IN the media or having to do BATTLE with media for 30 years. It does something to a man. Ugh. But now that I am writing humor from New Zealand, most inspiration comes from the news. I mean, c'mon, Jerry "SuperBowl" Jones, Shake Weights, Tiger, Stimulus Packages, North Korea, Extenze, Bernanke, Obama, Biden, Oprah, Pelosi's lesbian kiss, Gaga slut, Sarah Palin, Brett Favre, sexting, Dubya and Chilean mines. You can't make up this stuff! It's all how you look at it. While drinking adult beverages, would be my suggestion. Haven't had so much fun since the hogs ate my sister.
Bill
Joel,
This summer our antenna was disconnected for 3 month's and I new new it.
Most tv is a waste of time and money. You must have cable to watch football o Monday nights. I will use the radio it is still free.
Hi Joel,
I am an absolute believer in living a 'TV Free' life. Ever since I have stopped watched the Idiot Box, my life has been more peacefull and happy. I now get to working with amazing people and organisation to make a difference in their and my life. And yes...I am a coach. I really love what I do, and I love hanging out with amazing people like you Joel. Keep bringing on the good stuff.
Khaled
It is funny, five seconds before I read this email, I pitched the local newspaper in my recycle bin. I can't bear to look at the newspaper anymore and I never watch TV news. It is, as you say, almost all negative stuff. Who needs to fill their head with all of that negativity.
When I watch TV, it is a movie or something educational or fun. Not all of that that other bummer stuff!
I agree completely!!! I personally choose to read all my news and I'm selective about what I choose to read.
My wife and I gave up live TV with the exception of the weather report quite some time ago. My children (all grown and on their own now) were not allowed to turn on the TV before 7pm or until they had all their homework and chores done and my wife and I were selective about what they watched.
A study was done some time ago in a factory of over 2000 workers and they found that the higher up in the responsibility and money making category an individual was the smaller amount of time they spent watching TV. The Chairman of the company only watched about 4 hours of TV a week and half of that was training videos.
These days the average teenager watches over 3.5 hours of TV a day. When you consider the poor examples being set by what's on TV it's little wonder why parents have some of the problems they are having.
It's time to turn off and tune in.
Joel,
I completely agree with you - I don't watch the news and have stopped our newspaper subscription.
I never have watched daytime TV - too much I want to accomplish during the day, and most of the time the night time TV drives me away from the room.
Parents DO need to encourage themselves and their children to get away from TV and computers - the literacy rates show the effect both these mediums have had on young minds and it's not good.
Thank you for this thought provoking post.
hi Joel,
In my house we call CNN Continuous Negative News - it is a channel we all avoid. The old saying is still true garbage in, garbage out. People who focus only on the negative things in life rarely see all the great things going on around them.
Thanks for posting this Joel - is a great reminder that our quality of life is directly related to what we absorb each day.
Kay Kinder
Joel, You've hit on presisely why I don't watch any prime time television, including the news. There really isn't anything there. And all this slanderous election hype is the worst. I don't even know what the issues are because it's all about slandering the other person into oblivion. Not even worth reading or watching. Which should make something positive and constructive to blog about that much easier and fulfilling. Anyone can write about doom and gloom especially if that's where you choose to live.
This post was great, glad to see you do this Joel, since you have many followers I know this message has been seen by thousands! Is interesting in Spanish the word News translates to Noticias, notice the first two letters "No" :)
Thanks for sharing!
Hey Joel,
What a great topic. I feel like this every single day towards the media bombarding the public with political corruption and one crime after the other. It makes me sick to the very core of my bones...
I live in Johannesburg, South Africa. And as you should know (I assume only if you watch the news. :) ), we are one of the countries with THE highest crime and murder rates in the entire world. If I recall correctly, the only country that outnumbers South Africa with these statistics, is Columbia. Feel free to look it up online if there's any doubt in your mind whatsoever...
Talking from personal experiences, here are just some "simple" examples what I and close friends and relatives have experienced as individuals regarding our contribution to the victim statistics in this country:
1. I have been hijacked and had a 9mm pistol shoved into my ribcage.
2. My sister has been hijacked and struck against her head with a 9mm pistol.
3. Three of my best friends have been hijacked with fire arms against their heads...each an individual incident.
4. My best friends father have been hijacked twice, where the second attempt they took him into a field with an attempt to murder him after they made him take his clothes off, but he managed to get away.
5. My mother-in-law was shot 5-times and her friend was shot in the heart and killed right next to her in her car while driving away from a casino after winning $1,500 at a game of Black Jack. They were just attacked out of nowhere from a passing vehicle after being followed from the casino after cashing in their chips.
6. I have been house robbed while being at home with my wife.
7. Etc. etc. etc...
The list really goes on and on Joel. I really can keep on going here...
So, with that being said, you can imagine how many juicy stories there are to tell on a daily basis, across a variety of media sources. The media is getting so desperate to sell their material, we've been getting complimentary news paper issues for the last 2-months from a normally paid subscription service. Desperate for new clientele? As you explained with more people reading their news online?
Anyhow, just to give you an example of how common serious crime is over here, is the fact that a murder that took place over a stolen cell phone, get's published on page 4 of page 5, IF it makes it to publication in a local news paper!! Or a house robbery where the husband was shot in front of his wife and children while calmly and innocently having dinner, just for a cell phone and maybe a laptop. Senseless, heartless, meaningless killings of innocent human beings, and it doesn't even come close to be broadcast ed on regional television, not even the faintest chance of making it nationally.
But nooooo, news about some government official who got his share of a corrupt multi-billion dollar arms deal is way more important than the husband that was just murdered the night before, who's wife has to go to bed alone at night and raise their kids on her own with no father for her children, and children with no dad to share in their entire lives ahead. A family's only son and brother, good friend and law abiding, tax paying citizen, was ripped away from all of this in this thing called LIFE, for a measly cell phone or some earthly goods hardly worth selling. And this is not even worthy of mentioning on a front page cover of a local news paper, if even published at all should the incident make it to print.
It is extremely sad Joel..to say the least. It's enough to make you want to take the law into your own hands and face the consequences as such.
But this is only one of the many reasons why I stopped conceiving news a long time ago living in this country. And even after deciding to cut that part out of my life, you are still constantly bombarded with the latest tabloids and news happening by means of street pole news ads and bill boards which you cannot help but notice, and simply is inescapable.
I can only hope and pray that God in all His wisdom, has a bigger plan behind all of these senseless crimes, and that the Wrath of the Almighty will one day, bring justice for His children affected by these senseless crimes against humanity...
Excellent post Joel. I haven't watched TV for over 15 years and I don't miss it a bit. I also felt much better after I stopped. Aside from the generally mindless programming and news that is always negative, the ads are also constantly telling us that we're not good enough if we don't have or do or buy this or that.
I see television as being enormously damaging to us in general. We are mentally and emotionally programmed when we subject ourselves to it without even realizing that it's happening. Buying the latest stuff doesn't make us better human beings, and the news doesn't affect our lives directly, so there's really no reason we need to even hear about it. All it does is create negative thinking and emotion.
It's also a little known fact that late in his administration Bush was caught passing BILLIONS to the media in order to control what we were told by the news, and I expect that practice is still going on. So that tells me you can't trust what you hear on the news anyway. All in all it adds up to one thing to me; Turn off the TV. Instead, I watch a movie once in a while and I keep a good book or two next to the easy chair.
Best regards,
Dr. John Michael Christian
Looks like I'm the only one who disagrees with you, Joel! I agree with your basic tenet, but totally disagree with your methodology.
I watch Headline News once/day, and sometimes GMA just to keep up with what's going on daily. AND, keep up with what crap the media is trying to spoon-feed us (translated: political propaganda).
There's an old adage in news: the further you are away from the event in time, the more accurate the reporting. Eg, on-site reports of an event that just happened are usually ridiculous, the next day's newspaper is more accurate, week-old even better, etc.
On-line news is NO BETTER!! I don't know why everybody seems to think this is "pure" and "truthful". B******t!! If you're that naive, you deserve to be led by the nose.
When something is of definite interest, I check out foreign sources and a few other USA sources to get a balanced view. Then check it again a week or so later.
This approach has served me well -- taught it to my kids, and most of us watch very little TV.
But I DO SUBSCRIBE to the local newspaper, just to start getting more accurate reports versus the TV crap the day before. Not saying they aren't biased too, but now I'm starting to get more of the truth.
If you use the noggin God gave you to scan the news intelligently, you'll be well informed on things of importance, and won't likely be led.
Joel, I feel the same way you do. I hate watching local news because it's always so depressing.
I do however use my iPhone to keep up on what's happening in the world. I'm a huge believer in that if we don't learn from our mistakes we are bound to repeat them..
Take care,
Jason
Seven years ago my wife and I had a talk. The news was bad (even back then) and we knew that a news diet was in order. Rather than just cutting back on television or going on a "news fast" we decided to cut out the problem entirely.
We sold our television and began a wonderful new life that we enjoy to this very day. Everyone needs to make powerful decisions and that was one of the best decisions that we have ever made.
You can walk into our home today and you will not find a TV because it has been banned at our house. We have suggested this to many people but it usually falls upon deaf ears.
I haven't been watching the news for the past 3 years. Since everyone else watches the news anything that is truly important I will hear within a few minutes from friends, co-workers, or clients. It works out well because I am able to demonstrate my listening skills as my clients tell me "the news." They feel good because they can update me on something I didn't know.
Keep up the great posts.
Brian
www.Fitin2Diamonds.com
Joel,
You said:
"The news isn't bad. But the people bringing it to us are."
Do you really think that's what's at the root of so much negative news every day? I'd be interested to hear more about your thoughts on this...
Warmest,
Jonathan
I stopped watching bad news, it suck my positive energy away
I haven't been watching television for years, except once a year, when we remember it, we watch a music program with the best French music of the year.
I've never liked to read news papers, and I only keep one monthly magazine: Writing Magazine. It's awesome :)
The only time I see tv is when I'm out somewhere and then I am amazed or horrified at what is on. There are so many great things that can occupy a person's time, energy and mind. Why spend it all in front of television? What a waste!
My kids (now grown, well-adjusted adults) were brought up with minimal television -- mostly just PBS and an occasional show. When they were little, I would always have to take them out of the room at my parents' or my inlaws' so their little minds wouldn't be polluted with the violence that others were watching. Some people think it doesn't matter to have babies and small children in the room with violent tv shows going on. Then they wonder why kids are desensitized to these things.
The media is there only to program people according to what the "powers that be" want people to believe and program them to respond in a particular way to their environment. Like lambs to the slaughter, they do exactly what they are being programmed to do.
I say, "Rise up, people, and turn off your televisions! Close the newspapers and turn off the radio news. Quit complaining about the mythical economy and go create your world!"
You said it real well Joel!
Jenny (above) your right ... my parents are are both mistrial and watch reruns of news just to keep the TV on ... It's so sad I haven't figured out how to help then see the light. Traditional news on TV is as usefully and enlightening as porn these days. Twitter is more accurate (IMHO).
There are a few shows I watch, but they are intentional ... shows like "Shameless Idealists" where people like K'naan, Al Gore, and Martin Sean (who's been arrested about 60 times as an activist) talk about how they do everything they can, in their unique way, try to make the world a better place ... or "Real Time" with Bill Maher who cuts through the 'news' and talks about real issues from different view points and worth having a conversation about. (lets go cali!)
If I want to be entertained... I call a friend and go out to breath fresh air, or on occasion watch Youtube ... at least that's from 'real' people trying to express who they want to be seen as and helps me stay in touch with the real people in our global community. Ted.com rocks!
It's a simple equation:
Crap in = crap out.
Value in = Value out.
What type of person do you want to be???
Joel, I totally agree with you. These news channels really spread negative vibes all over and they only run on sensationalizing every news item. I would surely cut down watching TV now and work more on my blogs.
I could not agree with you more, I don't watch television with the exception of faith television and programs that are healthy for personal growth. I have to work my way into just watching a movie. So, thumbs up on this one!
I do a lot of research and it seems that the internet and mobile are not any better when it comes to distraction, but that's a whole other topic.
I couldn't agree more with this post. The news is incredibly negative.
Ren and Stimpy re-runs rock tho.
Erik
Regarding the news, a wise man once said "if it's really important, someone will tell you!". So, why bother waisting time and energy with primarily negative stuff that drags you down like a sea-anker instead of being empowering ?!
May be someone taking it as a bad news.. but it may even take as an alarming tone...
For privacy reasons I cannot give specific details, but a few years ago I was at a phychicratic hospital, were televsion was all but banned. They only had two sets one in the nature/science lounge and one in the sports lounge. And the only programmes that could be watched on those sets had to be related to the particular lounge.
When I enquired as to the reason for this, the answer was at the time startleling, 90% of television veiwing has a negative effect on you not just the news.
Having thought about that I can now see that it is not far off the mark, when you consider what most people decide to watch. Now i take a much more thoughtful approach to what I watch on television. If I choose to watch an episode of Oprah because the subject matter is one of interest (maybe for some research etc) I have made a concious decision to watch it and I am aware of the possible negative impact and so can limit its effect.
Joel, I agree with you more than anyone esle because it is also happening to my city. I am living in Hong Kong and I would say that 70% of the news either from TV or newspapers are all bad news. It sounds like that if one day, there is no person get kill or no car accident in our city,that will be the biggest news in town. What a sad story for the mass media.Sometimes, I don't know hwy things have been turned out like this way and perhaps people are just looking for bad news all the times.No wonder we seldom see any smile on any face in our city. I hope there will be more good news channel like God TV and Day Star TV rise up and wash waway all those negative forces by the good news of Jesus in the days to come.
Hey Joel,
you are right. personally I am woking on it. Less TV oK. Bad news Most of the time. But the internet is infected with money making scams all over. Who do we trust. The poor sincere person sooner or later becoms one of those I just mention before. My question, and it is a serious one. You are a smart person. Can you make internet much more safer for a sincere person who wants to earn a decent living with the help of marvelous tehcnology at hand? I call this Food for taught.
Tahnk you for the opportunity.
I have to completely agree with you on this one Joel! I stopped reading the morning newspaper this past year. I would much rather catch up on my new messages from friends around the world that almost always are getting in touch with me over something new they're into.... which is positive! It stirs the juices and starts my day right (along with meditating!)
Also stopped listening to evening news about 8 yrs. ago..couldn't take the negativity! What a drain on our positive energy! I'd like to keep all of mine, thank you very much! Petey
Joel does have ways to stir up hornet nests, always based on his own (practical =THE BEST) experience. Stopping and reducing watching TV, or buying newpapers: an evolutionary process with so much more we can do to *get through* our 24/7 mundane lives. Journalistic reporting - always - always has been based on sensationalism, the masses love to see heads rolling, legs torn off, since writing has been invented.
With PC's, laptops, iPhones,iPads, solar rechargers, iKindles," what we need most urgently: Improved stamina, EYE-power, Brain-health and Physical exercise - simply because all that has become our newer lifestyle, not necessarily *better*, certainly more interesting for a while, for the moment.
So true, Joel. Everytime I read the papers and see all these bad stuff I end up feeling like crap for the rest of the day. I now only read most of my news from the Internet mainly sports stuff.
If I really am interested in the day's news I usually ask a colleague or friend on what's the headlines for the day over lunch.
F#$%CK the bad news... (I wonder what would happen if only good news were allowed, think kind of the LAW OF ATTRACTION. Would more good things happen to all of us every day??)
Nothing on TV or in the paper is news if you use the definitions that "news" is something new.
Their aim is to get eyeball looking at ads. That may be one of the business models of the new media, but not one that will drive reporting.
The reporting will be done by people.. talking to people. Each with their ulterior motives too.
With the old media, we know their ulterior motives.. with the new media, there are so many that they cancel each other out. (I hope)
Congratulation for You Dear Joel! People are very interested in here. I also the less time let for bad news,and negligate agressive films, because so openly can be sense what they want or don,t want to tell me and us. Media managers give moneys for bad news? Is it the world of competencia in bad meanings? I could pay for Media only for the good news.... Bad behavior, bad thinkings, the inheritance of the past times to get people afraid of?! It is a very unright method. Maybe is a tendency to blind people from real and true world? We configure and shape our life...usually I see scientific news by television and like the "Spectrum" TV. More often listening to the radio /religious chanels too/, but my favourite practising is playing the piano and take a walk somewhere alone and try to figure out things how could it be better, what to do and how to do? What would I like to implement in my life? Money is worthy only if it serves good aims, anyway can,t be able to be happy who can get it, whatever greit amount it could be, believe it to me!!! Thank You!
The problem with the news media is that they report the worst of the human condition and they don't report about what's happening in the world.
The only news channel of any value is FOX.
I never read the news Joel like I never read comments, Often I am Deterred form commenting because of the lack of conversation among commensurates. I want to read your news which is good that is all I care about, I think only about myself and that is the only way possible for me to change anything in the World if I change me I can change the world someone once said. Last night I was out for a drink and was annoyed by this sleazy talking barman. Why because he was able to make chit chat to this lady I was looking at the bar yes she was nice and pretty until I looked at the eyes of the lady that was serving me behind the bar. Then I thought and stared her in the eyes and asked do you know Joel Commm ? She asked Who he is I just said I will see you Again :)
I mostly avoid news.
This really started in earnest after 9/11.
My alarm was set to NPR and I was waking up to immediate
and unbearable stress. I changed the station.
frankly i have undergone a course on meditation named SSY in which u are taught to forget,let it go the nueiance of media,newspapers,tv etc. its a good habit.initially i wondered about it but am convinced about its usefulness. It is u in the heart to learn to unlearn the fallacies of the new advanced world and look deeply inside YOU. YOU there is a peace,satisfaction and joy
I've thought the news was bad for some time. But then, much of the news online is bad, too. The only advantage of online news is one can easily pick and choose.
This is exactly the reason I also don't watch TV news anymore.
They slap you up the side of the head with all the bad news, then sport, then weather, then at the end just to try and make you feel better after all the trauma they put a "nice" story at the end.
As for the newspapers, well what can I say that hasn't already been said?
Now if I want to know about something specific or appear as if I am keeping "up to date" I simply do some research on the net.
Internet is killing the TV stars.
Have a great day without all the bad news.
Ian
I never really sat down on the couch to watch News. I always watched my Dad. Day after day in front of the TV. Seeing how countries are bombing eachother, and the insignificant events of unnecesarily popular people. I think it gives him some kind of high, being up to date with the world.. but what he's experiencing is utterly irrelevant to his personal life. Therefore, most news is bad for you, because it stimulates with more than you can take normally in real life.
awesome man honestly this is the xact reason y i dont watch the news ever its very boring depressing i c my family n frnds depressed n they all watch too much news i mean thts the only thing they do THANK GOD i m always away frm this THANKS :)