There’s been a lot made of the
24-hour news cycle, false social media news, opinionated journalism, shock-value
journalism, and major cable news services in the pocket of one party or the
other. To an extent, it’s all true.
But it doesn’t have to be.
I have a close friend who is a
newspaper man. He and I have been friends for years even with our differences
on many political issues. I consider myself right-of-center to his left-of-center.
At one time, we were on rival sides of the political fence as far as holding
office as Party Chairs for our small Central Texas rural county. It was the
most harmonious of times two party chairs could enjoy as far as working
together to ensure smooth elections. Then he moved and…. well that’s another
story.
One common issue we both have is
where people get their news and how what they perceive a talking heads position
as actual news. Twenty years ago, and before, most people got their daily news
from three main sources: a local or regional newspaper, the nightly news, and
the radio.
Today people are bombarded with
news from a variety of sources beyond the aforementioned traditional sources. Twitter,
E-Mails, Facebook, Instagram, Talk Radio, text-messaging, Snapchat, and cable
news organizations are a wealth of information….AND Disinformation.
I was talking to a gentleman the
other night and his line of reasoning came right from the ultra-conservative, conspiracy-theorist,
talk-radio game plan. I’ll not mention what programs or sources he had gotten
his “news” from, but obviously they came from “news” programs hosted by today’s
brand of typical opinionated talk-show hosts – NOT real newsmen.
Listening to him talk I realized
how much people rely on all these forms of news and how much they are impacted
by this over-saturation of “news.” It made me want to share where I get my news
and information and what I feel are good news sources.
First (and foremost), I have
subscription to both of our weekly county papers, and I generally read one of
larger daily papers as well (Houston, Austin, or Dallas). This gives you the
local and regional news.
Lastly, radio and TV news. I know
everyone has their preferences but here are mine. Along with our local radio
news programs, I watch or listen to three radio/TV programs fairly consistently
as I feel they offer the most honest coverage and present viewpoints from both
sides of the political spectrum. In the morning, I prefer “Morning Joe” on
MSNBC. In the afternoon, I listen to Jake Tapper’s program on CNN and Bret Baier’s
program on Fox News. If those programs aren’t on I listen to a mix of the BBC
news and Public Radio news with a smattering of C-Span. Yeah, I’m a news
junkie/nerd.
And while I am a news
junkie/nerd, thanks to my friend the Newspaper Man, I also closely watch what
is reported to make sure I know what the truth really is. I do browse the
internet for stories, but it’s not hard to get tripped up on a false story from
the web, an e-mail, Facebook, or the other web-based sources.
In closing, I often keep this in mind.
My Grandfather always told me to be careful and don’t believe anything you hear
and only half of what you see. Basically, in regards to the news, what he was
saying is if you want to know the truth go out and get it. Don’t be lazy and
wait for someone to bring it to you.
As a concerned citizen, gathering
honest news is an active process. If you want the truth you will go get it. If
you want to be ignorant…. well that’s pretty easy these days.
Extra, Extra…..
Bill
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