Forums → WEPR → United States Priorities

Well, we have to first remember that the media isn't necessarily a comprehensive or even impartial representation of what goes on in any country, for any number of reasons.

And certain stories that lack zing, or have been prolonged tend to lose favor with the tides of the public. I wonder what would happen if all these little tidbits disappeared and all you got was heavy world news...I know I wouldn't mind all that much but I bet you there'd be some complaints.

Of course it could very well be a real problem if purportedly representative news programs mainly concerned themselves with trivialities and filler all the time...or random sensationalist crap (*cough* I won't name any channels *cough*). At least one could hope that you could pick what news to watch...which is why if I want to watch current affairs I'll watch a current affairs program, and if I want to watch world news, I'll watch a world news program: at least where I'm at they're generally true to their intended natures.

Not everyone likes to hear about all the depressing news from around the world. Earthquakes in China, Cyclones in Myanmar, oppression in North Korea, Genocide in Darfur, terrorism in the middle-east, etc. It's a lot to take in. As much as I care about these issues, I need escapes. Watching a sports game or South Park is a good way for me to keep me sane. Others like to watch news on celebrities (such as Britney Spears or Roger Clemens) or they may watch movies.

And like mentioned above, news is not representative by importance. Each news channel will have news on world events, local events, celebrities, and sports. Yes, earthquake victims in China should be a top priority right now. But there is nothing wrong with caring about a favorite sports team or celebrity either.

yeah, im not even saying i dont have to read in depth about the article, my main source of news is the gadget i have on my laptop that has headlines run on it.. i dont care about half the things, but its nice to see actual news.. it just feels like our (everyone's) desire for ignorance is causing us our downfall if that makes sense..

Strop make a good point that news services are a business like any other. Sports, Celebrities, and man bites dog stories attract business, whether it should or not. Some of these events even are newsworthy; Considering the billions spent on Baseball, reporting the winner of the World Series seems reasonable.

Some of the smaller stories can have importance through their telling; when a teacher is fired unjustly, maybe that by itself doesn't matter on the national level, but having a national spotlight on those practices can help reform that school districts and others. So there's value to some of the "human interest" stories as well.

And some news just isn't going to be important to some people. Whether or not the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates has a huge effect on the economy, which affects everyone, but the average joe doesn't understand economics enough to comprehend why that's a big deal. So some important news isn't reported because it's only relevant/understandable by a small portion of the populace.

This doesn't mean I think the news is great; I do think there's too much fluff and not enough 'real news'.

The ones that annoy me the most are the talking heads. Bill O'Reilly, Nancy Grace, Lou Dobbs, Glenn Beck, and their ilk drive me up a wall. They're just commentators with an agenda, and too many people look to their opinions for facts. Not to mention they're arrogant and half the time don't have any more than a cursory knowledge of the issues they talk about. These blowhards are nothing more than a waste of oxygen in my opinion, and I wish they're get thrown off the air. Never happen because of ratings though.

i agree with what bigbowla is saying.. but as long as the ignorant masses control the tv it will happen sadly..

Remember a wile bak dat news woman threw away the paris hilton story an refused to read it as the other story wos about iraq. She wos right celebrity new shudnt b over real news.

another thing... how much do sports player get paid vs how much teachers get paid... its like we are saying that its better off to be dumb and be able to hit someone than it is to be smart and advance society...

and how often do you see a school advertise that they are a 12 time all state winner over a school boast that they have the highest scholastic record, ie test scores, graduation rate, etc..

@GreatZulu638: I'm pretty sure there salaries match up more to how many people have that skill more than value of the job. Explaining how to add 2 numbers isn't super difficult. There's maybe a handful of people alive that can hit home runs once a game.

Of course, I would agree with paying teachers more, so we can attract better teachers to the field.

And also, I know a lot of schools that advertise their academics over their athletics.

@GreatZulu638
"America believes in education: the average professor earns more money in a year than a professional athlete earns in a whole week."
-Evan Esar

So true...

I honestly don't care that britney spears is going to jail, or who the father of Anna Nicole smith's baby is. I do care about the war in Iraq, the reason to rising prices of gas, and world events. Wii news channel is great. You can read what you want. Just posting to say that there is at least one news channel that gives complete flexibility.

exactly, i hate all the attention that the media hypes about celebrities.. its really annoying..

Who actually reads newspapers or watch news channels to get their news? That sounds stupid but it's true, you can find better news watching other stuff. I think caring so much about celebrities is stupid, I mean who cares that a certain celebrity walked out of her house without matching socks? Idolization of celebrities is stupid, who gives a crap about it? If you do I would consider you the same as a stalker.

Sports is stupid also, who cares about that stuff? I don't get pleasure out of watching grown men play baseball. That sounds slightly creepy when I put it like that? Maybe cause it is. If you like a sport that much, go play the sport yourself. Thats what I do. I don't even watch the super bowl, it's the same as any other sports event, boring as hell.

The sad truth is, the majority of humans are stupid, and they prioritize stalking movie stars and watching sweaty men run around in circles more important then finding out whats going on in Iraq, the genocides in Africa, the amazing scientific breakthrough or even the serial killer next door.

^ i agree to an extent.. i like to watch soccer, mostly the world cup, but i think nearly everything else is boring..