Why I hate the news
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
One of my favourite blogs is Nigel Davies’ ”Grandmaster Growl” which can be found at the following link: http://tigerchess.wordpress.com/
This site is great! It has thought-provoking articles, super links (ie., my own blog, now that shows class) and is everything that any chessplayer (who religiously refuses to pay for anything) deserves to get! Lots of personal advice, also (Are you a divorced father? Get some free advice!)
Nigel’s latest blog entry is entitled: 10 good reasons not to watch the news , (which only goes to show that Hazel Smith’s top-ten lists have finally caught on ; you can go to Hazel’s excellent blog at the following link for more lists: http://checkmateupdate.blogspot.com/)
As someone who firmly believes we are better off watching Star Trek, here’s an initial list. No doubt there are some more.
1. News agencies will usually have a vested interest which makes them instruments of propaganda, for example government, advertisers or any political bias of their target subscribers.
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”10 good reasons not to watch the news”
As someone who firmly believes we are better off watching Star Trek, here’s an initial list. No doubt there are some more.
1. News agencies will usually have a vested interest which makes them instruments of propaganda, for example government, advertisers or any political bias of their target subscribers.
2. Journalists sometimes lack a particular expertise in anything, making them poor filters for whatever they report on.
3. Unpleasant events tend to be more newsworthy, so news is often worrisome and depressing.
4. News is rarely relevant to the people who watch it.
5. By the time you’ve seen the news on television any actionable impact will have already occurred.
6. News fills the mind with distraction, making it less capable of thought.
7. News presentation and receipt requires electricity, so it depletes natural resources.
8. News, and consequently the knowledge that they are constantly in the public eye causes politicians to make short term populist decisions.
9. News gives people a false sense of being informed causing them to pursue the wrong path with greater confidence and energy
10. News in video format highlights the appearance of any protagonists, thus causing style to be preferred over substance
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