A Strict News Diet
Posted at 5:20 AM on June 1, 2009
by Dale Connelly
(20 Comments)
Today is Minnesota Supreme Court Oral Argument Day as the Franken - Coleman Circus sets up in St. Paul. Every point made under the big top and especially every question asked by a justice will be analyzed in the tiniest detail to try to determine how the court will eventually decide, because the outcome of this case will have ramifications for the balance of power in Washington D.C..
Also, it will be nice for the people of Minnesota to have full representation. Someday.
Oh, and General Motors will declare bankruptcy today. Just an ordinary Monday.
The oral arguments at the Minnesota Supreme Court will start at 9.
The statement by President Obama regarding General Motors will be happening around noon. Of course you'll have the opportunity to listen to both events, but is it worth it to be THAT up to date on things? How often do you follow a story, live, through the 24-hour news cycle?
Aside from getting the results on election night, it has been years since I've been so engaged by a story that I couldn't let a few hours pass to hear about the next development. I admit I'm going to miss the enforced discipline of waiting for a newspaper to slap against the front door to find out what is going on in the world, but it appears we are destined for full immersion in a stream of news and instant analysis that never ends.
Even if you aren't following the story du jour, chances are good that someone who is following it will be unable to resist the temptation to fill you in. That's why sometimes I simply have to stick my fingers in my ears and sing "la la la la la la la." That's what I learned from the O.J. trial. It's a technique that causes headline-sharing people to step back a bit. On a news-rich day like this one, that can be a blessing.
How do you manage your news diet?
Comments (20)
I'm with you, Dale, on the fingers in the ears, la la la la la technique for listening to most of the news. Same thing for most of the printed news, but I don't know what to do in this case, fingers in the eyes wouldn't be good. If the new report is really important I should be able to get it on my computer. For news analysis I like the show, Democracy Now.
Morning Heartlanders. During the O.J. trial, my father (who was an attorney) was fascinated by the story, the proceedings, the legal rulings, you name it. He just couldn't believe that there was anyone NOT fascinated by it. Even after I told him (loudly) more than once that I wasn't interested, he actually sent me a book about the trial! So I got some "news diet" training early on.
These days, the news in my industry is not so hot and I have literally told people that I'm doing the "ostrich head in the sand" and don't want to discuss it. That works pretty well.
Have a great day Heartlanders... newsy or newsless, whichever makes you happiest!
"La la la la laaaa...." (Need I say more?)
I have a couple of co-workers who talk on quite a bit about politics and news. My own version of la-la-la with ears covered is headphones and music streaming to drown out the steady stream of news spoilers (among other things) in the cube farm where I am situated.
I mainly get my news from my RSS feeds. Watching The Daily Show and The Colbert Report is an important part of processing the news in a lighter-hearted manner for me and is a fun ritual I share with my fourteen year old son.
I vote for la la la la lalala both for the ears and the eyes!! Good morning Heartlanders!!!
Good Morning!
Monday's are always exciting, we just sometimes miss the excitement. I catch the news here (All Things Considered) and there (random sources) but try not to let it wreck my day. I'm more interested in getting the senate debacle behind us getting Franken to Washington, er I mean getting the winner to Washington.
Have a great Monday!
Greetings! I have a very spare news diet -- just the snippets of news on MPR, maybe once a week Time or Newsweek and that satisfies me. I hate TV news -- just sensationalistic and meaningless sound bites.
Very few news stories fascinate me enough to make me seek out news shows. Usually I'll just go online and seek out what I consider credible sources. Have a great day everyone!
My name is Beth-Ann and I am a news junkie. I follow news stories from multiple sources looking for primary sources and in-depth reporting rather than just a rehash of the AP copy. I generally try to spare folks my trove of facts, but if you ask watch out.
On another note the Piano Bar concert with Dan Chouinard and friends was wonderful. Dale did a lovely introduction. Most impressive-his assertive handling of the heckler from the balcony!
I mostly get my news from Public Radio sources...including "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" (which means I sometimes don't hear about something that's happened in Washington until the weekend). Some print, some online, too. Which I guess places me somewhere between Beth-Ann the news junkie and the "la la la" contingent.
That said, if the news is about unemployment, layoffs or more job losses, I revert to "la la la la" really loudly. I really don't need to know that more people are now in my situation. There are enough of us already - I don't mind the company, but for everyone's sake, I wish there were fewer of us. (Hope the new job is going well Mark!)
Thanks, Beth-Ann, for the news junkie confession and the kind words about the Dan Chouinard concert, which turned out to be a great show! We'll use it on Radio Heartland on the first Sunday night in July. Minus the lengthy introduction.
As far as the intro went, the heckler did me a big favor, reminding me of one of the cardinal rules of introducing things, which is "Get Off The Stage, It's Not Your Show!"
And me made it possible for me to end with a joke at his expense, so we both got what we wanted. I got a laugh, and he got to see me leave.
i generally am the "la, la, la" type. watch the evening "news" once in awhile but local only for the weather. i think i look forward to and tune in to RH and this blog more than anything else right now.
busy days lately so i'm mostly off in our own little world - maybe not good but it's what feels good now - thinking and acting really, really local.
good morning, All!
Dream is eating, chewing her cud, resting quietly and making us crazy with her incredible size!
oh yeah, Anna! forgot "Wait, Wait!" great show
News...I'm a middle roader, too. Wait, Wait don't tell me is a great resource for me...plus the needed laughter. Here in the northland i can hear it 3 times a weekend between MPR and WPR.
I carry cds in the car when the morning news shows on MPR are too much information...and, yes, SO grateful for RH to drown out the news I don't' want to hear...or lalalalalala it is.
But here is good news: I now am fostering two milk goats: Poplar and Venery. So now I must run and milk. Bad news: I miss more of RH than before.
Oh for a wireless connection and the computer in the barn...sigh.
Have a good day all.
I am soooooooo glad you asked this question.
Simon and Garfunkel sumed it all up in the song "Only Living Boy in New York".
"I get the news I need on the weather report.
I can gather all the news I need on the weather report"
Anything else can wait until the next day.
I read our local newspaper, which is actually doing OK, and that's good because my wife is the assistant editor. For state news, I check either MPR or WCCO.com.
Speaking of MPR, I miss Perry Finelli doing the news as he did on the Morning Show. In the 70s, I met Perry when our families stayed at the same resort in the Brainerd area one summer.
Rarely do I watch network news - mostly I scan CNN.com for the headlines and read stories of interest (mostly tech/science/space).
Barb - I was expecting (hoping) to hear Dream had delivered. On Friday, I chaperoned my daughter's first grade trip to the MN Zoo. We visited the family farm so I could visit the goats - even got a pic of me with a couple of them.
Hi Mike, and everyone,
Feel free to send in any pictures you'd like to share with the group, be it of a field trip to visit goats at the zoo or anything else.
I can't promise to post everything, but I'd like to have the chance. Sometimes an interesting photo gives us a great jumping off place - even for a caption contest.
thanx for john hartford
i get the nytimes delivered, listen to mpr; also still subscribe to lots of magazines for more expanded analysis (Harpers and the Economist do a good job)
hour by hour is too much and unnecessary and i have better things to do
Mornin'!
I'll self-regulate my 91.1 news intake, depending on when and how much of the 'real world' I can take at any one sitting.
My wife and I listen to "Wait, Wait" regularly. If you happen to be in Chicago on a Thursday night, go see the show at Chase Auditorium. It is definitely worth the roughly $20 ticket price. As you would expect, the show actually goes on longer than just what we hear and they edit it down. Loads of fun to see it in person. We got to see Paul Provenza's first time on the show. He and Paula Poundstone sat next to each other, scribbling notes and giggling all through the show like second graders. It was great!
Otherwise, I'll read a newspaper if one is in the break room at work. And I'll peruse the internet headlines...passing over the flulff ("X happened...and YOU said..." I didn't say anything, thanks just the same.)
My version of "la, la, la" is to immerse myself in my creative stuff. It's calming, productive, and builds my self-esteem. Three things that I find I don't get much of by following the news.
I find I feel better now that I automatically turn on Radio Heartland instead of the morning news shows, but I do like them for their hours with musicians and gardening mavens, etc. I'm with Elinor and if we had cable I'd do the Daily Show and Colbert Report.
My husband was able to watch the Watergate Hearings in the early '70s. I'm told they only got 2 channels, that and Sesame Street, and that it got so they couldn't really tell the difference when filpping channels.
morning, folks~
heard nikki and the ruemates at the Sea Salt at Minnehaha Falls again, saturday night---wonderful treat!
i used to get all my news on the morning show; now i get it from browser headlines, and the occasional glance at big headlines in the newspaper-dispensing machine.
as far as avoiding the overdose, i find simply not turning on the TV works wonders (i moved it to the basement some years ago).
funny how one can change....i used to be a journalist and a real news hound...but so completely OD'd on news after 9-11 that i pretty much gave it up.
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