so I've kinda quit watching the news. /rant on

[barbtries]

I still read DU and WP and other sources. But this morning I thought I'll click on MSNBC.com and watch some shows I actually miss a bit (Chris Hayes, Nicolle Wallace, Brian Williams primarily).

but i was running around a little while it was on. anyhow.

So on the 11th Hour, discussing the record steal from congress members by trump's DOJ, one of the pundits, a woman who I cannot name, said, "But this is not trump's DOJ, this is Biden's DOJ."

BULLSHIT. in virtually every institution of government, trumpsters are still making life hell for Americans, flaunting the rule of law, abusing their power, and they are not all gone. Not by a long shot. Who's running the post office for instance? ICE is still running amok.

Joe Biden cannot turn around the damage in 3 months or 4 years or 8 years. I've said since 2017 that it will be generations. I do not appreciate pundits who insist on boiling it down to "now" and "then" as if "then" is not now and for years and years to come, infecting both now and the future.

FFS it pisses me off. It's not simple, and these people come on with their powerful voices and try to make it simple. Don't do that. Just tell the fucking truth.

/rant off

[Sherman A1]

1. I would encourage you to look at

NHK, DW, BBC and France 24 as news sources. The US TV and Cable Networks are pretty much there just to fill airtime with manufactured drama to keep you engaged long enough to get to the commercials for drugs we never knew we needed.

I quit watching them long ago and amazingly am still informed without their drivel.

[barbtries]

5. i think i can live without shows.

I have DU after all, and subscribe to the local paper, WP, and the Atlantic.

But we are a minority. The drivel on tv is where most people get their news. sadly.

[LakeArenal]

7. Recently I got pushback for saying I get news from DU.

Fifty question about where I live and why can’t I use cable news.

Now I find a kindred spirit. Thanks.

[barbtries]

15. DU is an aggregator.

we get news from dozens if not hundreds of sources here.

Sadly i have to admit that as often as I've told people about stories I discovered here on DU, none of them have bothered to come see the site or join. They're still listening to NPR and watching network/cable news.

[Butterflylady]

19. I'm in your column

Cut cable and just have internet. Get my news here and others.

[LakeArenal]

20. I collected a couple for DU. It feels great.

Apparently lots have people have or need more sources. I find DU very dependable.

[SheltieLover]

12. +1,000!

👍

[NJCher]

2. correct her and the network

dash off an email pointing that out.

It's careless ignorance and it causes a big problem.

[blm]

4. ✔️

[barbtries]

6. it's a good idea.

i don't know her name. It was definitely a white woman saying that. i even went back to try and find the clip without success.

[NJCher]

14. I just send them to their mailbox

which I find under "contact MSNBC " (or whatever network it is). Then I ask for the email to be forwarded to the news director.

They do read them. I have on a few occasions gotten a response.

But note to everyone who cares to do this: take a note of date, time, and program to mention in your email. I've noted that for quite sometime now that they do not superimpose the guest's name anymore. That annoys me because I often don't catch it the first time around.

[barbtries]

16. i really have that problem too.

they introduce them very quickly and never put their name under them while they're speaking. I don't know who half these people are. because i was running around doing stuff while it was on, I cannot even be certain it was Brian Williams's show that this woman was on, though I am fairly certain it was.

[hunter]

3. Welcome to the club!

My wife has never watched television news and opinion.

I quit television news and opinion sometime after 9/11/2001.

We read most our news except for the snippets we hear on our local public radio station.

I find most of the longer public radio news and opinion shows just as intolerable as television.

We subscribe to multiple newspapers, most of them electronically.

[barbtries]

11. yeah.

since the election - no, since the inauguration! - I pretty much stopped watching. I used to have NPR on in the car all the time, but i rarely drive anymore, as well for years I changed their name to NPRR - national public republican radio.

what I don't want to do is check out completely. I'm not ready to start working on 2022, but dearly want to have the will and energy to get busy as the election draws near.

it's very frustrating to me that supposedly knowledgeable people, who have a huge voice on national tv, would just flippantly say shit like that. it enables propaganda, which to my mind is really the singular issue that makes everything else that much harder, and represents a real threat to democracy in the USA.

[Shermann]

8. I was recording NBC Nightly News

I like having the daily news condensed to a half hour of the most important headlines.

Lester Holt is a Republican who kept that close to the vest. Recently however he was attempting "gotcha" journalism on Kamala.

So I may have to cancel him.

Most of the networks are out of control with the prescription drug ads. Do we need a law? Really? It is well understood that we shouldn't be getting people focused on diseases they probably don't have. This is why certain types of screenings are being dialed back. The anxiety can be as problematic as the disease, especially when you start mixing false positives into the equation.

So screw you Otezla! And I'm not reading that stupid mesothelioma book!

[barbtries]

13. me too.

lucky for me I watch on my computer. I hate all kinds of advertising. hate 'em

[NJCher]

17. I automatically mute all commercials

And up until now, Lester was my favorite newscaster. Buh-bye republican.

Once you get used to muting, you do it automatically. Also, I get up and do some small task during commercials. A lot can be done during commercials, such as take glasses or plates to the kitchen, pick up a pair of socks on the floor, that sort of thing.

I used to write commercials, but that's not why I mute them. I mute them because I hate "clutter."

[SheltieLover]

9. Precisely why I have no TV service

Zero tolerance for that 💩💩💩

[LakeArenal]

10. 24 hour news shows fill the time with crap.

I get Fux and CNN international.

I’ve seen the highlight of Crayola Crayons 100 times.

[Joinfortmill]

18. Totally agree.

[GoodRaisin]

21. MSNBC and CNN seemingly push something to

piss me off every time I listen to them. So I know how you feel. I listen to them, but take what they say with a grain of salt, keeping in mind that they are in the business of sensationalizing events and selling ad time. I get most of my news by reading DU and following the links to the many articles posted on DU. I also listen to NPR and BBC.

[SergeStorms]

22. Righteous rant!

Well done.

[barbtries]

24. thank you SergeStorms! :)

[FakeNoose]

23. I've been avoiding televised news probably 90% of the time

I still read news blogs, especially DU and others. When something that's truly earthshaking happens I do turn on the TV, but it's not happening often.

After January 6th and all that crap I found that I had to take a mental health break. I trust Joe Biden and his administration, so I'm not sitting on the edge every minute - and it's such a relief! At some point I will go back but for the time being I'm really enjoying the peace and quiet.

I totally get you Barb!

[barbtries]

25. you totally do.

i think we are in the same exact place, mentally and emotionally exhausted but still needing to know, you know?