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WHAT’S NEW?

by Open-Publishing - Monday 20 June 2005
8 comments

Edito Conso-Adv Media-Network USA

By Peter Fredson

Every morning I turn on TV to see what is happening in the world. I keep doing this despite the fact that I rarely learn what is really happening. Let me explain.

At the beginning of the “news hour” there are 5 to 7 advertisements for toilet deodorants, toothpaste, soft-drinks, suppositories, male enhancement pills, cars new and used, and self-promotional ads for the news services. Then the “anchors” come on, exchange pleasantries, mention the latest movie or entertainment award, and introduce each other and a news reader.

The newsreader reads carefully scripted and edited reports of how well we are doing in Iraq, shows Bush swaggering and chortling to a highly selected audience, gives ten second bites of some Republican senator praising his party, gives a three second summary of fighting between India and Pakistan and announces a National Day of Prayer.

This is followed by another 5 to 8 advertisements, after which most of the “news” is dedicated to the useless lives of entertainers and sports figures, or discusses the possible juxtaposition of sex organs of some people who happen to be “popular” because of press agents or getting involved in a drunken brawl.

Tittilation by semi-nudity, is often followed by descriptions of the shoes or clothing or hair-do, and names of designers of apparel. Accessories such as ear-rings, nipple-rings, belly-rings, lip and nose rings, are shown in detail. In this way the public can forget their own blighted lives, and vicariously participate in the lives of non-entities before going to work.

Then comes a literary figure. Someone wrote a book, or poem, and is asked about it in the most superficial way possible. This fills about 5 minutes which is easily avoided by a quick visit to the bathroom.

Then follow another 5 to 8 advertisements with perhaps a “public-service” announcement. Then comes the real news of the day: the weatherperson, who shows actual shots of tornados, hail, flood, earthquake, houses sliding down hill-sides and lets us know if we can plan a picnic or head for cover.

And, finally, another 5 to 8 advertisements, each guaranteed to bring us happiness, fulfillment, good smells, tasty food, cheap toiletries, and successful fornication.

Forum posts

  • A person who does not learn from history is doomed to repeat its mistakes. Hint - Don’t watch TV.

  • What’s new?
    That is so true - the news is just empty drivel and the BBC,, though it doesn’t broadcaste adverts has become exactly the same as the commercial channels, You watch an hour long news broadcast and learn - nothing.
    Hilary Grenil

  • The only thing the idiot box is good for is propaganda. The "news" is all the same, to glorify our so called "leaders" and to spread the message of "freedom and democracy". We’re nothing more than a dollar sign to these companies.

    • It’s a difficult situation. I tend to listen to the BBC or english Al Jazeera and you’re right, a dumbing down is achieved through them placing emphasis on the mundane or trivial. But the problem is that it is interspersed with relevant bits. This leaves the viewer/listener having to ’read between the lines’, an art form in itself.

      Here in UK I find the best, objective news within mainstream media is Channel 4 with Jon Snow.
      Any good news sources in US ?

    • Peter, bonjour,
      Tell us how you can "catch" Channel 4 ? with internet: what link ? or only with the satellite TV ?
      We, everywhere need to watch TV news easier to read between the lines. JEROME

    • Heres the web link http://www.channel4.com/news/

      Not sure about sattelite etc This ones quite good for all the newspapers as well, http://www.dailynewspaper.co.uk/ -but this definitley involves ’reading between the lines’ as most print based media are panicing every day about filling space which consequently results in drivel/lies/ speculation.

      Regards

    • No there are no good mainstream news channels in the U.S. they are all Republican owned including the newspapers so you just get wall to wall Bush bullshit lies and nothing more except the regular trash that takes up most of the time.

  • Try democraynow.org. Better international news provider on the internet. Even if you are not multilingual it is kind of interesting to use google language tools and digg into foreign newspapers.