A friend asked this of me awhile ago. My first thought was, "I don't." Then, after thinking about it for bit, the truthful answer is... Facebook and my iPhone. Although I know I can't make up for that statement, please allow me to explain.
Here's the thing. The news is depressing. I have quite enough drama and depression going on in my own little life, thank-you-very-much, to deal with more that I can't do anything about. If I watch the news, I feel that I need to have some emotion for every story and I just don't have that emotional wealth to share. Much less do I have any ACTUAL wealth to share. As much as I would LOVE to contribute funds to the myriad of natural disaster relief funds, I just don't have anything to spare.
So, I choose not to watch any news at all. I don't watch CNN, MSNBC, my local evening news, FOX news (*shudder*), or whatever else is out there.
Instead, I watch Facebook. I have several friends who are news buffs and post about the important goings-on in the world. I figure if several of them post about the same thing in one day, I should probably familiarize myself with it. Some days I learn about pop culture and others I learn real headline news, such as the Union issues in Wisconsin, the rebellion in Egypt, or the earthquake in New Zealand. And then there are days when I get a bit of both. I think those are my favorite. Take this NY Times article about how pizzas are being delivered to the Wisconsin protesters from all over the world. Kinda gives you the warm fuzzies, right?
If I do decide that I MUST have a dose of actual news to feel connected to the world, I have the NPR app on my phone. I think it's brilliant. I love NPR and find then to be the least biased source of news for me. With the app, I can scan the headlines and choose what I think is important to know. I can also bypass the things that are just too much to handle at any particular time. PLUS, I can fit in my news while standing in line or watching a show with Bridget.
So there you have it. I'm a horrible person who can't stand to hear about the fifth murder in a row or the ten car pileup that left several people seriously injured. I don't want to know over and over and over again that there is still fighting in the middle east. I love and respect our soldiers but I know it's terrible wherever they are and I don't want to know the details. Sorry.
What about you? Where do you get your news? Please tell me I'm not the only one out there that doesn't keep CNN on all day.
Here's the thing. The news is depressing. I have quite enough drama and depression going on in my own little life, thank-you-very-much, to deal with more that I can't do anything about. If I watch the news, I feel that I need to have some emotion for every story and I just don't have that emotional wealth to share. Much less do I have any ACTUAL wealth to share. As much as I would LOVE to contribute funds to the myriad of natural disaster relief funds, I just don't have anything to spare.
So, I choose not to watch any news at all. I don't watch CNN, MSNBC, my local evening news, FOX news (*shudder*), or whatever else is out there.
Instead, I watch Facebook. I have several friends who are news buffs and post about the important goings-on in the world. I figure if several of them post about the same thing in one day, I should probably familiarize myself with it. Some days I learn about pop culture and others I learn real headline news, such as the Union issues in Wisconsin, the rebellion in Egypt, or the earthquake in New Zealand. And then there are days when I get a bit of both. I think those are my favorite. Take this NY Times article about how pizzas are being delivered to the Wisconsin protesters from all over the world. Kinda gives you the warm fuzzies, right?
If I do decide that I MUST have a dose of actual news to feel connected to the world, I have the NPR app on my phone. I think it's brilliant. I love NPR and find then to be the least biased source of news for me. With the app, I can scan the headlines and choose what I think is important to know. I can also bypass the things that are just too much to handle at any particular time. PLUS, I can fit in my news while standing in line or watching a show with Bridget.
So there you have it. I'm a horrible person who can't stand to hear about the fifth murder in a row or the ten car pileup that left several people seriously injured. I don't want to know over and over and over again that there is still fighting in the middle east. I love and respect our soldiers but I know it's terrible wherever they are and I don't want to know the details. Sorry.
What about you? Where do you get your news? Please tell me I'm not the only one out there that doesn't keep CNN on all day.
1 comment:
I have CNN on right now. Actually, it's CNN, MSNBC, Fox and and whatever else is out there. You name it, I'm engrossed in it.
Ahem.
I'm not sure if anyone else asked you that or just me. The funny thing is, I was all worried about not being as informed as I should be (whose imaginary standards I was using, I have no clue), but I have the same attitude about the news that you do. I listen to NPR a lot. A lot, a lot. I mainly listen to it through podcasts because I only listen to it live when I'm in the car and that's not that often. I also have NPR send me articles, but I often only get to those months after they're published.
Also, I think everyone who responded to me said something along the lines of your second line in this post. I think high school was the last time I watched the local news regularly. I tried when I first moved away, but I didn't do that well. The only reason I was so good about it in high school was because what the crap else does one watch pre-seven in the morning?
Oh, and I've probably mentioned before, but I think my favorite feature about Facebook (and the list is small indeed) is that people post articles there.
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