Kyrie Eleison
September 8th, 2005, 12:29 PM
Thank God we have places like RR to get news! As Christians waiting for the rapture, we are very plugged into the news. We have to keep some perspective on them and beware the power of the media in these last days. Anyone else notice how the cable channels have gotten more & more like tabloids in recent years? This year the cable biggies really just lost it, it's mostly spam. Lately they've begun reporting Blogs as news, too.
While watching a big story like Hurricane Katrina, we are to consider the source of all our information. Let's always remember that the media is in a constant fight for ratings. Werner has a really good thread in the political forum on the media and Katrina, called toward a better understanding. Lately, the tabloid/celebrity slant on everything in the news has irked me. It's weird, they have so much power to influence our perception of events.
I don't know what to think (well, actually I do) about their incredible power combined with the newly evolved sophomoric approach to journalism which seems to have taken over, lately. This isn't a conspiracy thread, but just my thoughts on taking things with a grain of salt and considering the motives of all involved.
The news is shaping a lot of our thoughts. It reminds me of an old Woody Allen movie, Sleeper. Anyone remember it? Well, Woody wakes up in the future and finds Diane Keaton living in a house dominated by this giant screen TV which is constantly telling her what to think. I don't much care for Woody Allen, but that one scene from that old movie is how I feel lately about the media.
Anyone else think that journalism has taken a BIG leap into the area of propaganda lately? Also, not only that, but a lot of Oprah style coverage on how we should feel. Aren't they just supposed to report the news and let us decide what we think and feel :confused Not that I fault the reporters for being human and having emotions during a disaster. I just question the general direction of the news, especially the cable channels.
The cable outlets go from nursing a sad story like the Natalee Holloway disappearance into a feeding frenzy for ratings that blocks out mayor news stories of events around the world (including what's happening in Israel!) to taking their coverage into this natural disaster with such a political and hysterical focus, yet with little actual information on how the branches of government work and with no balance in coverage of the many areas that were hit.
While watching a big story like Hurricane Katrina, we are to consider the source of all our information. Let's always remember that the media is in a constant fight for ratings. Werner has a really good thread in the political forum on the media and Katrina, called toward a better understanding. Lately, the tabloid/celebrity slant on everything in the news has irked me. It's weird, they have so much power to influence our perception of events.
I don't know what to think (well, actually I do) about their incredible power combined with the newly evolved sophomoric approach to journalism which seems to have taken over, lately. This isn't a conspiracy thread, but just my thoughts on taking things with a grain of salt and considering the motives of all involved.
The news is shaping a lot of our thoughts. It reminds me of an old Woody Allen movie, Sleeper. Anyone remember it? Well, Woody wakes up in the future and finds Diane Keaton living in a house dominated by this giant screen TV which is constantly telling her what to think. I don't much care for Woody Allen, but that one scene from that old movie is how I feel lately about the media.
Anyone else think that journalism has taken a BIG leap into the area of propaganda lately? Also, not only that, but a lot of Oprah style coverage on how we should feel. Aren't they just supposed to report the news and let us decide what we think and feel :confused Not that I fault the reporters for being human and having emotions during a disaster. I just question the general direction of the news, especially the cable channels.
The cable outlets go from nursing a sad story like the Natalee Holloway disappearance into a feeding frenzy for ratings that blocks out mayor news stories of events around the world (including what's happening in Israel!) to taking their coverage into this natural disaster with such a political and hysterical focus, yet with little actual information on how the branches of government work and with no balance in coverage of the many areas that were hit.