General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhy do people bother?
Every morning, afternoon and evening I come on this board and see one, two, three or more lamenting and complaining about what is going on with some TV "news" show or another. Scarborough, Fox and Friends, GMA, they all take their turns getting beat up on these boards.
Why do people bother watching these shows? I mean really now, it isn't like we don't know the spin these shows are going to impart. It isn't like we don't know the backgrounds of these shows and hosts. So why waste your time by watching these shows?
Is it that we can't turn away from a train wreck? Well, I would think that watching the same train wreck for a few days we would get tired of the spectacle.
Is it that we're doing "opposition research"? Guess what, you can save yourself the trouble of watching by accepting one simple fact, that these shows, these hosts, aren't on our side, aren't liberal, and are going to spew the same propaganda, day in and day out.
Sorry, but I just find it baffling that so many waste their time with this stuff, and worse, come to these boards to complain about just how outrageous these shows are. Stop giving these shows their ratings, stop giving them your eyeballs, and guess what, if enough people did that, those shows would either change their approach or disappear altogether.
Stop feeding these beasts, and find some other more intelligent, saner way of passing the time.
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Hepburn
(21,054 posts)MadHound
(34,179 posts)I mean really, who doesn't know that Faux is a conservative propaganda mouthpiece, that Scarborough is a former 'Pug Congressman.
We all know who these people are, and watching them, day and day out, isn't going to enlighten us any further, just outrage us even more.
Hepburn
(21,054 posts)...when they fail to mention an issue.
A conservative FauxSnooze lover I know is also a mega dog lover -- he called me a liar when I told him the story of Seamus. His sources had not mentioned the issue. When he got my email with the Romney tape admitting the Seamus story, last I heard, my dog lover pal is passing his vote for POTUS.
I may not have converted him to Obama, but I managed one less Pug vote.
Small victory -- he now checks in on Rachel Maddow to see what Faux may have overlooked.
DainBramaged
(39,191 posts)It's enough sucking down my morning meds than to have to worry aboot bullshit I never have and never will get control over.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)enough people get fed up with them. It might take a major collapse of one sort or another before the collective consciousness of this country wakes up to what is going on. I thought 8 years of Bush might have done it, but apparently not.
All these programs are is corporate mouthpieces spewing propaganda. In some ways it's worse than state controlled propaganda, there, you know it's really bad, here many people think they are getting all the truths and facts from these corporate shills.
Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)Here pick one or both;
"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." - Eleanor Roosevelt
"Television, the drug of the nation, breding ignorance and feeding radiation." - Disposable Heroes of Hiphopcracy
raouldukelives
(5,178 posts)Thanks, hadn't heard that DHH song in a dogs age.
Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)Great CD.
sorefeet
(1,241 posts)is insane. It's that same hate, racism and propaganda every day.
I would even bet it causes real health problems from the stress and anger. I can't get past 5 minutes of it myself before my blood pressure is up. so just imagine the damage these right wing hate mongers are doing and don't even know it. I see them around here obese,angry and stupid from the same propaganda broken record. And they believe it too.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)Just took the last month off unpaid due to stress. He loves his rush, and can get quite worked up about "the liberals". He claims work has been stressing him, but I have three times the responsibility that he does. Hell, if he doesn't do his job it is my job to get it done. Work isn't stressing him, too much brainwashing is stressing him. The man thinks Obama is a socialist. Hell, I just wish he was a classic democrat (and not what we have been calling a democrat for the last 20 years)
Life Long Dem
(8,582 posts)If the shows are not watched we wouldn't know what our enemies are up to. Think of it like this also... if we were truly underground we could be really having a hard time knowing what the enemy was up to because they really wouldn't be broadcasting all the drama they broadcast and we'd have a hard time finding out what the enemy was up to. But since we have a ratings game they are willing to keep us informed of the steps they are taken.
But as it is now, yes we are feeding into their ratings game.
LittleGirl
(8,985 posts)Why do people bother watching this tripe?
I have never been one to watch much tv and a couple of months ago, we ditched direct tv after finishing off the two year contract that we didn't know about until we tried to cancel. We had the most basic service and yet, were still paying close to 100 bucks a month. We decided that we could spend that 100 bucks somewhere else. In addition, we watched maybe 3 hrs of tv a day and most of it was local or network that could be received with an antenna. So that's what we did. We bought an antenna and propped it up against the satellite and that's it.
I miss Rachel sometimes but even that can be overcome by the internet and we already have internet at home which we pay 30 bucks a month for.
Poison is bad for the body as much as it is for the mind, so we just refuse to ingest it.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)20+ stations come in OK. We also use ROKU which for not much gives you access to thousands upon thousands of moves and shows, etc. I also watch Rachel there for free. http://roku.com
chervilant
(8,267 posts)has been enlightening in so many ways, not the least of which is the amount of television she views every day. Thank goodness she doesn't view Limbaugh, O'Reilly and their ilk.
You might appreciate Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television by Jerry Mander.
turtlerescue1
(1,013 posts)take three minutes-at most. Even admire someone with like-political views(progressive, liberal dem) who can tolerate those folks. Limbaugh, just the sound of his voice, that's enough. Faux, its not even on my DISH "channel" lists. The Christian channels, unless its Dr. Stanley, can't stomach them, sadly that is really true. Can't even watch C-SPAN without seeing the guide first.
It is necessary to know what shoe they plan on throwing next. Someone with more tolerance and with the ability to not throw up easily, and whose b/p isn't easily elevated. Rather hear the latest from someone with a like-view...so THANKS to those for the courage and abilities to do something difficult.
SunSeeker
(57,962 posts)I lose it in under a minute with Faux. Just the smarmy look on their face makes me 
.
If I walk into a Dr.'s office or something where it's playing I either ask to change it or just wait outside. Otherwise the doctor would have a medical emergency on her hands.
Sometimes my husband and I can't even stomach the clips that are shown on Maddow et al. We just have to zip through them.
Ugh.
A Simple Game
(9,214 posts)
EFerrari
(163,986 posts)It's like choosing between a blue tie and a dark blue tie. lol
A Simple Game
(9,214 posts)I have seen him go from total support for the Republican position to mild support for the Democrats in a 24 hr. time frame.
Lately he has been supporting the Democratic side consistently but that was not always the case.
EFerrari
(163,986 posts)But even so, the range of his discussion is very narrow.
A Simple Game
(9,214 posts)
SpankMe
(3,679 posts)If all of us so-called liberals stopped watching these shows (or, more accurately, "monitoring" them) there would be no measurable lowering of their ratings and they would still go on, being watched by the masses and increasing in their influence and sophomoric-ness. And as their influence increases, progressive values (i.e., "thinking"
diminishes.
Folks like us must monitor, report and provide as much push-back as we can in between bouts of projectile vomiting.
I agree it's useless to bitch and moan about this solely on DU as it only preaches to the choir and does nothing to temper the conservative media madness.
But, to merely stop watching would be like ignoring a festering boil only to see it balloon into a cancer some day.
MadHound
(34,179 posts)I pretty much keep up on the doings of these folks without having to "monitor" them. Generally you have somebody like Stewart, Colbert, NPR, and others who "monitor" them to find out the latest in craziness.
We all know what crazy, RW nuts these people are, do we need a blow by blow, day by day report? I think not.
EFerrari
(163,986 posts)The corporate media doesn't care what you think about their shows.
And if you only watch them for the day's talking points, you can get those in the headlines of any number of websites, in Amy's headlines and even in WJ's headlines.
SoutherDem
(2,307 posts)On some election nights I will watch CNN, not that they are really fair but they will have the liberal side represented by those who can hold their own in an argument.
I may watch 1 or 2 minutes of FOX only on a big story, such as Obama supporting gay marriage just to see how it is being spun. I may do so when the SCOTUS makes the ACA decision public.
So far this year I have watched less than 12 hours total.
I do listen to NPR daily, I do feel they are fair. I feel this because I do hear both sides and during a show or story I will find myself both agreeing and disagreeing because they have a liberal and conservative on.
One reason I can think of watching FOX or listening to Limbaugh and the others daily. It really does give a heads up on what type of BS that is being shoveled. Since I seldom listen to any of these I will at times be blind sided by a comment or question by a conservative which I can't answer.
I must say I thank theses who sacrifices their time listening to the conservative BS and posting here on DU so we know without having to listen.
Mosaic
(1,451 posts)They have a definitely right wing, corporate, nationalistic view of the world. They focus much of their "news" on the Middle East, which makes me feel they are an arm of AIPAC perhaps. We should have the right to know this.
SoutherDem
(2,307 posts)Something happens, a new economic report, results of an election, a candidate says something, whatever.
NPR will have a reporter/commentator who generally stays neutral and have a guess from both sides who discuss both sides, but not allowing a shouting match. In some more in-depth reports they will have one side one day and the other the next allowing both sides to have the full stage but giving equal time.
Other news organizations do what FOX does which is just take one side and don't even try to be fair, some do this with a little more transparency, and others will have one or two shows which are more left but the rest of the shows are on the right.
As to the Middle East it is a big focus on NPR but for the last 30 plus years we have had wars and conflicts in the Middle East so having that as a focus could be appreciated by the listeners.
One other point on the Middle East. For whatever reason it is difficult to take any side but Israel's without running the risk of being called an anti-semitic, even here on DU.
But, if NPR is very establishment, just what news source do you suggest? Based on what I have seen on DU and from my personal observations I don't know of a major new origination which I can watch/listen to and get the news and not the opinions on the news.
By the way, I am not looking for a liberal news source, but an unbiased news source.
CTyankee
(67,956 posts)I check the roster of who will be on the show the next day and plan accordingly. If I know someone I like, such as Elizabeth Warren or Paul Krugman is going to be on, I plan on watching it.
Today, not so much. That awful Nicole Wallace was on so I gave the show short shrift. I noted they were still on the "Obama is out of touch" talking point from last Friday so just as I am ready to hit the off button Halperin chimed in that he thought all the chatter about Obama's offhand remark was stupid. I do like it when Joe is challenged. And you can't say last Thursday's massive smack down of Joe on the "the New York Times never covered Kerry's lavish homes" was a JOY to watch. Willy Geist found an indepth article (right during the show on his laptop) the Times had done on Kerry's many homes aabout a month before the 04 election. Then Jon Stewart did a hilarious mocking of Joe on his show. All of this was a thing of beauty...
MadHound
(34,179 posts)Frankly I find very few TV shows in general, much less TV news shows, worth bothering to watch. My schedule is a busy one, especially this time of year, and when I can find a bit of time clear I'd much rather do most anything but watch TV.
CTyankee
(67,956 posts)laughs by ridiculing Joe (as only Jon can do!).
I actually think that's a good thing. Jon offers a counter balance to his audiences.
Skittles
(170,413 posts)seriously - they PAY for it
Mosaic
(1,451 posts)Is so belligerent, so obnoxious, and so plain wrong on 99% of what he says that I can not stand him even for a second. I instantly change the channel when I see him on that stupid show. My advice to msnbc, cancel it and replace it with something matching their weekend morning Progressive line up of Up and Melissa Harris. Then I'll watch.
CTyankee
(67,956 posts)I love their shows. They are keeping me at least somewhat happy in this rather depressing time. I'm comforted in the knowledge they their shows are the future and Joe's is rapidly fading into irrelevancy.
I'm hoping the "future will soon be the now" is fast approaching...
TahitiNut
(71,611 posts)
At least it's some exercise.
On the Road
(20,783 posts)that give them an experience of outrage. Personally I can't understand it as an ongoing habit.
In some cases, right-wing shows are entertaining or can help work through both sides of an issue. I sometimes found G Gordon Liddy entertaining in a bizarre kind of way, and hearing some of the economic arguments on Fox has helped to formulate a response for future discussions.
In other cases, it's hard to avoid. I just visited my parents house, where my father insists on having Fox News blaring at all hours. Some gyms or workplaces have Fox on, for example.
But it seems like a lot of these programs are being watched almost masochistically. There *has* to be something better to do.
librechik
(30,956 posts)if we are going to fight it, it needs to be fought there, not in some imaginary world where knocking on doors or standing by the 100s of thousands + together (--even millions!) in protest has an effect. Like it did back in the 70s when the liberal media had still some small shred of existence, at least in the person of Walter Cronkite.
They will ignore us no matter how many we are, unless we get a microphone like theirs. Which we do not have, despite all the whining about the media being liberal. That is a damned lie. The media is bought owned and paid for by conservatives, since the eighties at least, and we have done nothing to fight them, just pretended they don't exist or aren't all-powerful.
It's not working, as a strategy. And since Citizens United, I doubt we even have a chance to fight them anymore.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)you must not care much about history. Just because they lie and spin doesn't mean it won't fuck you up badly.
Just saying...
My motto is that it's always best to know the truth, and watching them lie is to know the truth about them and to look out for their tools and techniques.
If we women ignore the recent wave of misogynist laws sweeping the country do you think they'll just go away?
MadHound
(34,179 posts)I don't have to tune into news shows or talk radio to know what the propaganda is. It is the nature of propaganda to permeate society, and as such, one doesn't have to view it day in, day out, but can pick it out of the air.
I find it a waste to sit down and watch people spew the same bullshit that I knew they would spew before I sat down to watch them.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)I get all the updates I need from DUers who do watch them. I would never be able to stomach them. Literally they churn my innards into knots. I had enough of that for a lifetime during Bush's regime.
RebelOne
(30,947 posts)I watch my local news and when GMA comes on, I switch to Washington Journal.
Bettie
(19,488 posts)And sometimes it makes me mad. Sometimes, there is some amusing fluff.
zorahopkins
(1,320 posts)I like to watch Lifetime, LOGO, and Comedy Central.
I also watch TCM if it has a good movie.
Since I have started these channels primarily, I have lost weight and my blood pressure has gone down.
And I think I am more like other Americans.
kentuck
(115,311 posts)How will you know?
freshwest
(53,661 posts)Checking television or radio for weather and traffic or election news is the draw. We need a common form of information that is readily available, too bad it's full of lies wrapped in half-truths.
Needed information is overshadowed by paid for speech, most news stories are advertisements for things most people don't know about. A story about this or that supposed scandal or good deed, is just like a poll for manufacturing consent for those who own the media want.
Corporations want to snag tax dollars, as they have stripped the private sector and most people with their practices already, so there is not much pickings left there.
They then produce a narrative for a 'need' or 'crisis' or 'reform,' that are none of those things. The need or crisis is in their balance sheet, always screaming for more profits, and their 'reforms' are a complete reversal of the term as most people consider the word:
Definition of REFORM
1 a: to put or change into an improved form or condition
1 b : to amend or improve by change of form or removal of faults or abuses
2: to put an end to (an evil) by enforcing or introducing a better method or course of action
3: to induce or cause to abandon evil ways
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reform
Let's consider the nature of these alleged 'reforms' that we have been treated to over the years by the conservatives. These 'reforms' were not needed, things were going along well enough for the sane. Our system had made America an example to the world, which was our true security:
1: Not taxing the wealthy who own much of this country and get the benefit from its activities, labor, exploiting natural and intellectual resources, even going to war to keep it in place. It was not necessary despite all the lies put forth by the media they bought to lower their tax rate, they were not suffering.
2: Privatization and destruction of the commons needed for social mobility and maintenance of the same, including the jobs of public workers to keep things peaceful and productive.
3: Eliminating the cost of damages to polluters and statutory protections to whistle blowers who brought those things to light to improve the environment.
Okay, I got to run right now so this is unfinished but I think most people know where I'm going. And they could add their examples of these things. My opinions of media have been affected by years of working with them in various ways and seeing how they have distorted the facts, held back on stories until a contract was up for bidding, and then... well, I really have to get going.
Gidney N Cloyd
(19,847 posts)As I did this morning with MoJo, a program I like for its format and some of the guests, if the BS gets too thick for me, I move on.
I would never waste time on all-RWBS-all-the-time shows like Rush or Fox News but most other things are a more even mix from day to day.
As for posting about it here, it's a discussion board. Once I weed through the inevitable 'why do you watch that?' posts, I find plenty of like-minded people who seem to enjoy sharing their impressions.
As for feeding ratings, for the vast majority of us it doesn't work that way. Comcast or Dish may know what I'm watching if I have digital service but they can't do anything with the data. 3rd party services like Nielson collect that viewership info, complete with the demographics that make it mean something to the advertisers.
snot
(11,598 posts)the best defense is an offense -- and by that I don't mean that I want to be aggressive, but rather that we need to spend more time raising OUR agenda, and less responding to theirs.
just1voice
(1,362 posts)as stated in the NYTimes: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/10/magazine/liberals-are-ruining-america-i-know-because-i-am-one.html?_r=2&pagewanted=3&hpw&pagewanted=all
Worse than being instant propaganda responders, many people also act exactly like conservatives as soon as their candidate takes office and they also stop caring about illegal wars, privacy violations, drone attacks, ordered assassinations, torture and scores of other behaviors that outraged them when a conservative does it.
The sad fact is the U.S. is full of propaganda as the MSMedia is totally owned by propagandists now and I estimate that about 1/3rd of our entire population isn't even aware that it's propaganda they're watching, reading and listening to.
Blecht
(3,806 posts)It's more like 90%. Just look at all the members here who express shock at something they saw on TV. Why should anybody be shocked when a propagandist creates and disseminates propaganda? That's what they do. But day after day we see posts at DU starting out with "I can't believe what Joe said this morning!!!!"
And that article you link to is very well written (in the creative writing sense), but the author's "world" couldn't contain more fantasy.
In this world, it would be much harder to mislead people because media outlets would shift their resources to covering the content of proposed legislation, the exploding role of corporate influence in our affairs of state and the scientifically confirmed predicaments we face as a species.
The author thinks that if we ignore the propaganda, this fantasy world will magically appear. Why should we believe that?
HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)real issues that matter to people. maybe that's the point.
Cowpunk
(833 posts)Yeah, that strategy worked wonderfully for liberals during the 80s and 90s, as the right wing built a gargantuan propaganda machine right under their noses, and turned the word "liberal" into a curse throughout America.
Contrast that to what's been done to Glenn Beck during the last couple of years as liberals mobilized to strip him of his sponsors by simply repeating to those sponsors the outrageous things they had heard on his show.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)
Shankapotomus
(4,840 posts)Republicans and Conservatives who complain about the bias and evil liberal media and yet are constantly appearing on liberal media outlets.
JNelson6563
(28,151 posts)I subscribe to Netflix streaming so if I watch anything it's from there.
When I first told cable to stick it I was a little apprehensive. I'd always had TV, like everyone else. About a year later and I do not miss it at all! I see people getting outraged at the stupidity on the TV and I am glad I don't subject myself to that torture any more.
Of course it is a personal decision but I wish more people would just tune out and quit feeding the gaping maw of the beast.
Julie
Blue_Tires
(57,596 posts)I used to have to listen to him when she dropped me off for school (Rush was on in the mornings, then)...Her take on it was you always have to know what the enemy is saying/planning, and you ignore that information at your own peril...BUT, to her credit, she was never the type to run to friends and family to scream "Do you know what RUSH SAID TODAY??"
When I grew up I tried to take her advice and became a daily listener of Michael Savage, but I could only stand a couple of weeks of it, and never went back...
closeupready
(29,503 posts)Same goes for threads complaining about Free Republic or stuff that goes on there.
I find that frequently, people who support that kind of e-masochism/self-flagellation are the same ones who argue that use of ignore is 'censorship'/anti-democratic.