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Old 04-26-2011, 12:12 PM  
mohel
 
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'suspension of disbelief.'

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Quote:
Here's a friend's take on some of this stuff:

I believe that the invention of "media" news, especially the internet,
has been the single greatest blow to the ability of man to form any
reasoned view of his world and how he relates to it.

Assimilating this stream of information has been compared to trying to
drink from a fire hose. Today, it is not a fire hose, it is a tsunami
of sewage.


We once had only the print media (and to some extent radio) to give us
information. The ability to think and reason was laid in some form of
education but most people did not develop much capacity to think or were
not interested - they just went to work and had their 2.4 kids and a
dog. A six-pack and a game involving a ball was a full life. They
never re-entered the realm of ideas and seldom had any means to
articulate whatever biases, prejudices or preconceptions they held.
Lacking something to contribute, the capacity to articulate and a
platform to do it, they were largely
irrelevant. And that was OK.

The delivery of the news then was slow enough that, by the time it had
come to be printed, the situation at hand was fairly clear. Accuracy
was important; that newspaper or book would be around for years and the
writer would be judged thru it's permanence. Reputation mattered.

Additionally, only those who had the capacity and interest to actually
READ on a subject were exposed to ANY information on which to form an
opinion. And that was slow too. In a community, there were those who
came to be respected for having widely read and their opinions were
respected. Some were not university educated but were regarded as
having that elusive quality called wisdom.

Today, the "news" arrives in "real time", by the micro-second and
megabyte. The flood of content therein is unqualified, unsubstantiated,
unchallenged and unattributed. The very method of delivery is, by its
nature,
impermanent - it won't exist 10 minutes from now so why bother to check
for validity. Impossible. The reputation of the writer? Who could
determine that.

Now the average guy thinks that he HAS a opinion that is correct and
informed, although he is ignorant that he has formed it from the river
of garage. Worst, he now has the technology to spout his prejudices and
misjudgements, as if they had value. So the flood rises more.

Because EVERY writer is now equal in the river of garbage there is no
way to determine what to accept. So the average guy does what he has
always done - he accepts only that which agrees with whatever world-view
he already possessed. Except, now he feels validated - he must be
thinking correctly - now he sees a multitude of others who share his own
innermost feelings. He eagerly passes on e-mail and diatribes
containing the worst sort of libel and incitements. So the flood rises
a bit more.

Pundits of all stripes, claim to offer their version of wisdom but the
reality is that they owe their incomes to their ability to intensify the
flood even more. Their words are accepted without question. They are
the oracles of the faithful.

As groups form around the self-validation of the internet, we become
ever more isolated from others and less willing to look outside our
prejudices.

The estrangement will only increase until some form of social upheaval
occurred.

Whether that is to be a general collapse of civilization or just social
warfare, I do not know.

I do know that this cannot long continue.

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Old 04-26-2011, 12:27 PM  
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I so agree. I was just a kid, but still remember Walter cronkite, David Brinkley and the like and up to recently, Peter Jennings. It really is a friggin zoo anymore.
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Old 04-26-2011, 12:50 PM  
mohel
 
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Keizer, OR
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I can't watch Fox, I get too angry at the lies. I do see their shills on other programs and I'm astonished people might believe most of their crazy claims.

When News was still news it was exactly that. No rescued puppies or drama from Beck & Company. It was serious stuff and treated accordingly. 24/7 news lacked material so hype replaced news.
Want to know what's important? Tune in Faux News for the latest Storm of the Century, Hurricane of the Century or Snowmagedden.
'suspension of disbelief.'-faux-news-poster.jpg 

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Old 04-26-2011, 01:25 PM  
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I haven't watched a news network in 5 years that hasn't been extremely bias. It's not just Fox New - it's a sign of the times. I think I first really started noticing it a few years into the Iraq war
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Old 04-26-2011, 01:30 PM  
mohel
 
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Keizer, OR
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I think it began with CNN's coverage of Iraq War #1.
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