Skip to main content

News is Boring

Image result for news flash

 ....This just in....

 News is boring.

 I know. It's not a surprise.

But it seems like we're surrounded daily by a barrage of stuff. Just... Stuff. Most of it is soooo boring that it's intolerable. Let me give you a quick rundown of how I consume my news. I admit that it's fairly subjective, but hey - this is my blog, and you're reading my thoughts. So there.

I check out the following websites nearly every day:

Image result for ksl.com

ksl.com - I read MAYBE one article if the headline and story grab my attention, usually something to do with local politics and legislation. Also I watch the weather report but skip the stuff about what kids need to wear to school and whether or not I should wash my car. I just want today's forecast and a quick look ahead.

Image result for cnn.com

cnn.com - Again, maybe one or two stories. Max. I'm not sure why I even look anymore - there's nothing really of substance, and it annoys me that I waste my time there.

Image result for npr.org

npr.org - This site generally has much better content, but it's hit and miss. The stories are not just the normal stream of who's left the Trump White House or whom Trump has annoyed today. There are a wide variety of things to look at, and I almost always find at least two stories that are interesting. The same thing with....

Image result for bbc

bbc.com - I like this one because of the international take on national and international stories. They also have content that is of real interest, and I find I spend most of my morning reading time there. Their stories are invariably interesting and well-written, and I would call them "features" rather than news. I mean, they do generally have news stories that they're reporting on, but the content, similar to NPR, tends to be more rich and interesting than the normal news drivel. Finally, there's....

Related image

yahoo.com - For which I have no real excuse, because most of the stories there are just click-bait (guilty pleasure). They do have some good links to things on other places I occasionally visit, like Huffington Post, Brookings Institution, etc.

The point is, all of this takes maybe 30 min to catch myself up on the events of the world, and most of the content that's on there is just worthless and boring. I realize that they're trying - major news networks - to liven things up with dramatic teasers and music and headlines... But much like the Nunes memo, it's all just so much schlock... I'd rather take a trip to Idaho.

Image result for news is boring

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is this thing still on?

 Does anyone even blog anymore? I remember when it first got started and everyone was having a blog. I like writing, and I do a lot of it in my professional life, but not everything makes it onto this blog, which is where a lot of my personal thoughts come out. I put more into Facebook lately, too, because it's a little easier. But there's something to be said for this long-form writing exercise, and I think I will continue here periodically. You don't mind, do you? Well, in my last post I wrote about how difficult things were for me at the time. That changed in July when I finally got a job working for the State of Utah. I was the program manager for the moderate income housing database program, and that meant I worked from home a lot but also went in to Salt Lake when needed, mostly on the train. It was a good experience, for the most part, and I'm grateful for the things I learned even in the short time I was there.  In October I started working for Weber County in t...
1 comment
Read more

The Other Art

I'm not sure we appreciate photography as much as we do other art forms. Part of this comes from the reality that surrounds and permeates a photograph - it's very, very real, and the photographer strives for clarity and crispness in the representations. Perhaps this is why black and white images continue to be relevant - they strip away extraneous information (color) and leave us with something that is at once familiar and also non-existent - for nothing exists in black and white. Nothing. I also think that pictures are becoming too common-place... Everyone has a camera in their pocket, and while that's a very democratic thing (everyone can express themselves in a picture easily and readily, and can find an audience for these images, which are casually taken and casually viewed, and perhaps just as casually forgotten) I think that we embrace that casual attitude, and it spills over to all aspects of the media, making it impotent. So I read this article this morning: h...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Romantic Encounter

Him (tears in his eyes, heartbroken): I want you to know that I love you, that I'm sorry for my weakness and frailties, and that I will try and do better. I think I am doing better than I was before, and I just want to please you and make you happy. I am very grateful for your continued patience as I try to be the kind of man I want to be. Her: You need a haircut. It's getting a little long.
15 comments
Read more