In Amusing Ourselves To Death, Public Discourse in the Age
of Show Business, the chapter that I found interesting and fitting in our day
and age was, “Now . . . This”. Postman points
out how our news broadcasts of today are more entertainment then actual news. He has described the formula for today’s news
broadcast that is demanded of most producers; “. . . strive for the largest
possible audience . . . make celebrities of your newscasters . . . advertise
your show, both in the press and on television itself . . . have a weatherman
as comic relief, and a sportscaster whose language is a touch uncouth (as a way
of his relating to the beer-drinking common man). You would, in short, package the whole event
as any producer might who is in the entertainment business.” (106). How
often do we see and hear this very broadcast?
Add to this the music, photographs or film footage that has been
gathered for any particular news story and you have entertainment, or what we
have come to accept as the news broadcast.
As Postman points out, it is much more about the look and sound of the “show”
rather than what is being said in any particular news cast.
When you consider the small amount of time spent on each
news story before moving on to the next, and realizing that it does not matter
if it is a world headline or a fluff piece, we are moving quickly on to the
next story and being forced to think about something else. I feel that Postman, for the most part, is
correct on his analysis of our news media on television. We live in such a fast-paced world that we rarely
slow down to absorb information. There
seems to be no filtering system on our information gathering, everything simply
runs together.
You do bring up a good point. We don't give ourselves enough time to stop and smell the roses. We move quickly from one thing to the next, not realizing we might be missing something important. When watching the news, have you recognized what it focuses on the most? News media on television bring up a lot of stories featuring crime. Did you know, due to all the crime that is being shown across television (social media), people think crime rates have increased? In all honesty, crime rates have decreased compared to ten years ago. News media mainly focuses on the negatives of the world rather than the positives. Therefore, we believe more through seeing than by acquiring knowledge. Your title is a great touch to your post. Sometimes,if we blink, I think the world skips a beat. Living in a fast-paced world really changes the perceptions of things. If the world doesn't have time to slow down and absorb information, what else doesn't the world have time to focus on?
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ReplyDeleteYou definitely bring up some very interesting view points and I agree with you. The news is no longer used to inform us but to entertain us. It is nothing more than entertainment on television. I think you did a great job referencing Postman in your post and used the quote in the correct way. I liked the title you came up with it grabs the readers’ attention and they are not disappointed with the post. The world we live in is very fast paced and it is important that we realize that we may be missing some vital information. You certainly supported your statement and did an excellent job explaining it.