In the Neil Postman article “The Peek-a-Boo World”, we are able to see how the news and media has come to be the way it is today. According to Postman the telegraph started this infatuation with who can get news the fastest, whether relevant or not to our daily lives. This is much what the news is filled with today, information that is almost purely for entertainment value and has no effect on the way we live our lives. We are able to see examples of these types of “news stories” in shows like E! News, Showbiz Tonight, The Insider and so on. But, these are not the only programs that are talking about if Britney showed up to her court hearing, or who Tom Brady is now dating, you can find this information on CNN, Fox News, The New York Times and USA Today. Instead of reporting on important information that might actually affect our lives, like for example the status of the economy, these “news” sources are giving us stories the are purely human interest entertainment stories.
With the most recent “news”, we all heard about the tragic death of Heath Ledger within minutes of the E.M.S. being called. Yet there are many stories out there that are much more important to our daily lives that most people have yet to hear. The news sources are so bogged down with stories like that of Heath Ledger’s death, which really affect our lives in no way at all.
I feel this is what David Thoreau meant when he said, “telegraphy made relevance irrelevant”; any information that is relevant to our lives is now irrelevant because it does not have the entertainment value of the latest Britney Spears drama.
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2 comments:
I agree with your post completely. Today the news is filled with information solely for entertainment purposes. Perhaps the news has these types of stories on it because people are so obsessed with entertainment. If the news showed stories that were more relevant to our lives and not as entertaining or interesting, perhaps they would lose viewers.
I also agree with your blog. I do think it is a bit ridiculous that when something happens to a star it is all over the news for days. Yes, these things are tragic, but it is life. I do not have a problem with it being on the news, but newscasters tend to go over the top and go on and on about the same useless news. It only depresses people. News just like television shows is to entertain us. Yes, it is news, but they find ways or the horrific of all the stories to put on headlines to keep us watching. It is beginning to take over ourlives. After the whole Heath Ledger news I was sad, I mean who would not be? Death is always awful, but after hearing it once, I was done with it. It would have brought down my day if I watched the news for hours. We control our lives, don't get caught up in the drama of tv!
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