So, have you got rid of your cable or satellite yet?

[debbierlus]

It always puzzles me that people complain about the right wing destructive media, but continue to subsidize it and watch it.

If every person who is fed up with Bush and the cheerleading media would get rid of their cable or satellite in protest...we might get somewhere. Can you imagine if several million of us wrote in and said, 'I am not tuning into your lies, I am getting rid of my cable subscription and your news coverage is the main reason'. Then, we all did it. The ad dollars they would lose.

I will not pay to be lied to...

Screw them.

[FreedomAngel82]

1. It's just a simple thing to do

Turn the channel you don't want to watch and/or support. There are better things to watch on cable.

[InsultComicDog]

44. But...but...I like to watch

[Blue_Tires]

107. best.movie.EVAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lol

[InsultComicDog]

117. Glad someone got that

:kick:

[Inland]

2. Why keep cable? E! and SciFi channel, of course!

There's got to be a [place to turn when Bush gives a major TV address, and the 100 Sexiest Bodies is on right now.

[ewagner]

8. TCM

Turner Classic Movies....some real good, old B&W films from hollywood...Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewert, Orson Welles....Bogart of course, and the incredibly beautiful Ingrid Bergman...

sigh............

[Inland]

16. You know what the classic movie channels are great for?

That last viewing in bed...every other channel has programs (or at least commercials) that are jarring. Those channels are just calmer, great for falling asleep. And I never feel obligated to stay up to get to the end. And I too have a thing for Bergman. I would have turned in Lazlo in a hearbeat.

[ewagner]

35. Lazlo......

I agree....that's the only reason (in my opinion) that Bogey(Rick) was a hero because the temptation would have been too much for me.... :rofl:

[FreedomAngel82]

60. I also love the Sundance Channel

[mattclearing]

3. Current is on satellite as well.

As is the Daily Show, and lots of other left-leaning media. You can't have it both ways.

[RebelOne]

4. Why cut off your nose to spite your face?

And then what will you watch if you have no satellite or cable? Rabbit ears don't work any more. If you have DishTV you can set up your own menu and don't even have to see the listings you don't want.

[debbierlus]

7. Give me a break, the VAST majority is pure trash

Yes, you would have to give up the daily show and a couple of other good programs.

Big deal. It would be such a huge statement to give them all the collective finger and just shut them off. It is a very empowering thing to do. Everytime I bring this up, people complain they do not want to give up their favorite show. I am sorry, but my personal opinion is that is utterly pathetic. We can't give up t.v.?! In my opinion, if the left won't even sacrifice a few t.v. shows, we don't have very much of a chance to take back this country.

Why do we tune in and subsidize a medium that is the main vehicle of the right wing propaganda?

There is simply no excuse.

[RebelOne]

15. My favorite channels are HSN and QVC.

There is no way that I will give them up.

[onenote]

27. its also a medium that supports a lot of Democratic contributors

The creative community has a lot of Democrats. SO let's turn on them. Right.

onenote

[TallahasseeGrannie]

41. I work 10 hours a day

and I really, really enjoy watching TV at night. I knit and I crochet and watch TV.

You know, there are a lot of right wing books out there, too. Should we stop going to Borders? The library?

I am intelligent enough to watch shows I enjoy.

Plus, every once in a while I watch the RW so I can see what they are up to.

[FreedomAngel82]

Exactly

We don't live in China. Martin Sheen stated a great quote once in an episode of the "West Wing" and he said "freedom means choice." Would you want the rightwingers to take away programs we enjoy? If you don't like it than just don't watch it. Same thing with the radio and books and movies. It's so easy and everyone is happy and has their first amendment rights. I get so sick and tired of people telling me I should do this or vote that way or whatever. Let me be the adult I am please! Stop treating me like I'm five years old for goodness sakes! I get that enough from my parents.

[JVS]

56. The vast majority is trash, but nobody can watch all the things on 60...

channels. All one needs is 3 or 4 channels with stuff they like and they are set.

[Berserker]

115. It would be

the same thing as saying get off your computer it will let them know. There are lots of sites that I don't go into just like there are lots of shit I don't watch on cable. I want both.

[jus_the_facts]

18. Rabbit ears DO work....SIGH...

:eyes:

[Inland]

29. The pain! LOL!

I spent a year with a twelve inch black and white with a coathanger for rabbit ears. Best twenty five dollar purchase I ever made.

[jus_the_facts]

32. InDEED....I've used 'em for 15yrs....and get 6 local channels...FREE!

...and a couple fundie channels as well but don't program those into my remote! :hi:

[Inland]

40. Six may be unusually good.

Chicago close in may get six with rabbit ears: four networks, WGN, pbs, two spanish language, a couple of others are around. Well, it's all a waste of time, it's just one of my preferred wastes of time. I held out against cable until I moved and the Bulls were in the championship, and the attenna on my building went down. I had cable the next day.

[RebelOne]

57. Not on my TV. Believe me, I've tried when my satellite goes

out because of bad weather.

[thinkingwoman]

89. rabbit ears don't pick up

HGTV

[ewoden]

5. What and miss soccer on Goal TV?

Seriously, I keep my satellite because tend not to want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. I get IFC, History Channel, CSPAN, CurentTV, Comedy Channel (Yeah J.S.) and the BBC. Most of everything else I simply exercise the options revealed by all those little numbers and buttons on the remote.

[BlueJazz]

21. Yep..I agree...I keep my Satellite for all the great stuff that's on it.

I doubt seriously if Any good Democrat paid to have Satellite installed to watch Rush Gasbag.
Plus..I love the movie channels and have found I actually save a lot of dough by not driving
down to the video store all the time.

[Warpy]

6. I've never had either at home

but I'm enjoying it at my pop's house in Florida. His package doesn't include cable news (oh, what a pity), but it does include all the interior desecration shows, things I think are absolutely hilarious.

But nah, I won't bother with it at home. I really don't watch that much TV.

[Angry Girl]

9. I'd love to be able to get cable, but it would only be for the

Cartoon Channel!

Don't worry, before long, many people wil be giving up their cable TV because they can't afford it any more.

[ProfessorGAC]

10. You Do What You Do. I'll Do What I Do

A little preachy, don't you think?
The Professor

[ginnyinWI]

11. in a word: Cspan

Unless someone is prepared to watch it only online, they gotta have some kind of cable to get it. And it's worth more than everything else put together.

[zanne]

20. C-Span and BBC and...

Link TV and TBS for all the Friends and Seinfeld reruns.

[liveoaktx]

30. Yup... me too. As for the others, it's like digging in pig shit for gold

If I'm willing to do that in order to find some useful things that pump me up, I'm gonna do it and nobody is gonna tell me to give up satellite for that.

[debbierlus]

Stream it on the web...

And, if you have dial up...UPGRADE to dsl with the money you save from not having satellite or cable.

[jobycom]

12. Poor HGTV. The conservatives want to destroy them because

they refuse to discriminate on their shows, and now liberals want to destroy them because they share the same air space as CNN and Fox?

[Initech]

13. No, for two reasons: Daily Show and Colbert Report

A third if you count Real Time with Bill Maher.

Those are the only shows that are keeping me from turning off my satellite dish.

[400Years]

14. TV is a big waste of time

[LSK]

17. CSPAN

You are missing out.

[jus_the_facts]

36. Not missin' anything....you can watch it ONLINE....

:eyes:

[TallahasseeGrannie]

49. But if you cancel your TV subscriptions

because of the right wing crap, and then you buy a big DSL for your web viewing, you are basically doing the same thing. There's plenty of RW stuff on line, too.

Plus you have to have a fast connection and a pretty damn good computer to stream CSPAN.

[RebelOne]

62. Not really. I have a 56K connection and a really cheap computer

and I receive C-Span just fine.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

70. gosh, I try and get it up at my farm

on a W98 with dial up and it is so broken up it isn't worth watching.

[tkmorris]

19. What a goofy idea

I don't throw my telephone into the ocean because I get a telemarketing call. Same principle applies here.

I don't watch FauxNews. I tell my satellite provider that whenever I can. I don't watch any channel that engages in that sort of nonsense. I do however watch LinkTV, Free Speech TV, and so on. And I tell DishNetwork that's the kind of programming I want more of.

Here's the thing. When cable or satellite companies look to add or delete channels from the lineup do you think they ask the non-subscribers what they want to see or do they look at what their current subscribers are watching?

[Inland]

22. How is CNN, for example, compensated?

Is it compensated at all for it being on my cable? Or does it get all revenue from ads?

[onenote]

31. combination of "per subscriber' fee and ad revenue

The cable company pays a set fee based on the number of subscribers who have access to the tier of service on which CNN is located. And CNN also sells advertising, which also is impacted by the number of potential viewers (as well, obviously, by actual viewership levels).

onenote

[Inland]

33. So it DOES get a cut of my subscription.

that's mildly distressing to know Fox gets some of my money. And yet, Futurama and Daily show are subversive. Hm.

[peacetalksforall]

23. Free Speech TV. Democracy Now and all their other programs.

Well worth it. And, of course, C-Span.

It depends on who the supplier is. I would not take cable through Time-Warner.

Someone told me Direct and Dish TV donate to both Parties. Dish, moreso?

I don't watch FOX or CNN - I limit my peeks to see what MSNBC is covering when I find something on C-Span that I think should be covered by a genuine news service.

They rarely broadcast Democratic and cut off Democrats when they do or they report it in ten seconds with derision.

By peeking at MSNBC I know that island, cruise ship, and California crimes are still the most important issues they follow and that anything right wing rocks them. The propaganda-pushers are then gleeful, perked up, and glowing or wordy (or both).

[jus_the_facts]

24. I've said this repeatedly around here...and have gotten the same response.

.....the NEED for worthless entertainment is much more important than takin' a STAND...pathetic really. :nopity:

[LSK]

28. still nobody is addressing the CSPAN counter

There is NOTHING more informative than actually watching the House and Senate LIVE.

[jus_the_facts]

34. You can watch CSPAN online 24/7/365.....

:think:

[LSK]

37. if you have broadband internet

And a decent computer...

[jus_the_facts]

39. wrong again...I'm on an OLD computer with dialup....

....there is NO excuse.

[LSK]

42. you are right, i am enabling the Corporate facists

Because I want to watch CSPAN on something bigger than a small window in a computer screen and not tie up a phone line 24/7.

Guilty as charged. :sarcasm:

[jus_the_facts]

45. whatever....truth hurts don't it....

:eyes:

[LSK]

46. no because you have not established how watching CSPAN

Enables the MSM to lie to us.

[jus_the_facts]

51. It's not CSPAN...it's the rest of the MSM that's the problem here...

....and as long as you're payin' for cable and satellites...you continue to enable their lies and manipulation. :nopity:

[onenote]

76. and if you're paying for dial-up, aren't you enabling the phone

companies' support of repub candidates?

onenote

[jus_the_facts]

78. that's off topic...but touche'...the revolution won't be televised.....

.....everything you purchase these days goes to the right in one form or another as they've got a monopoly on EVERYTHING..this is about makin' a stand against the cable news networks by not lettin' them siffon your bank account and paddin' theirs. :eyes:

[RebelOne]

67. No, as I stated above, I have 56K dial-up and a cheap

e-Machine computer, and I receive C-Span with no problem. I have streamed it quite often when my satellite reception was lost because of bad weather.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

50. Worthless to you

not to me. Different strokes.

And I don't think it is an effective or efficient stand to take.

And without it, I won't know what the hell is going on because I have high speed through my cable company.

[jus_the_facts]

63. then don't bitch when the MSM keeps doing what they do to piss you off...

....just sayin'...the threads day in and day out around here is pathetic...I've not bought TV in almost 20 years and I still know wtf is goin' on..and it doesn't take high speed internet or a new computer either...I still got to watch CSPAN on a laptop that was over 10 years old and ran Windows 95. :nopity:

[TallahasseeGrannie]

69. I don't bitch about the tv media

at all. I am endlessly fascinated by the back and forth. It is a metaphor for life. I glad you are happy with your life without TV.

I enjoy it. I learn from it. I am inspired by much of it. I ponder it. It enriches my life and the only way they are going to get the remote from me is to pry it out of my dead cold hands.

Or, if the bird flu comes and the power goes down. Either one.

[jus_the_facts]

71. I'm not without TV...I get plenty of FREE TV...with an antenna....

....PBS is still extremely informative and I watch it more than any other of the 9 channels I can pick up with it...and there's still batteries for a radio too when the power goes out...I have an extensive DVD collection to watch other times but I'm online with an old 400mhz computer and dialup...with an internet answering service and voicemail so I don't miss any calls...there are alternatives to standard cable and satellites...s'all I'm tryin' to get across here...to each their own regardless. :hi:

[TallahasseeGrannie]

74. Ahh

well, I live in a hole. Literally. Between two hills. In the boonies. No antenna coverage at all. And no high speed without cable. We actually have Dish AND cable.

But I agree with you if you can't stand the medium, why purchase it?

[debbierlus]

59. People won't give it up...they should

I tell you. It is the BEST thing I ever did...My husband and I use to stare at it every night, lie in bed and then get caught up watching it.

We TALK about two hours a night, now (among other things)...My daughter reads books upon books upon books. The noise and clutter is gone from the background.

I am telling you, get rid of it. You will never go back!

[jus_the_facts]

68. I've not bought TV in almost 20yrs....I totally relate...

....it's very liberating and the peace of mind is amazing! :hi:

[Catrina]

25. Gave up cable three weeks ago ~ my friend also gave it up

It's been great. If I want to watch a movie, I can rent it. I'm not longer screaming at Wolf Blitzer or Tweety ~ I don't even know what they're saying. I never watched Fox, at least not for several years.

I have several friends who have either cancelled it already, or are going to also.

[onenote]

65. have you ever watched a movie put out by Fox?

For example, did you see "Sideways"?

onenote

[Catrina]

105. No, I didn't see 'Sideways'

Actually, I haven't had time to watch too many movies either, lately ~ if there's a list of movies made by Fox, it would be a public service to post it. I would hate to inadvertently support any rightwing propagandist. :-)

[cynatnite]

26. Why?

I can boycott advertised products and not watch instead. Why would I want to get rid of National Geographic, History, Cartoon Network and other channels I like because of a few I don't like?

[chefgirl]

43. Exactly right!

I have cable, and I refuse to get rid of it. I watch C-Span every morning and lots of times its on all day if I'm home.
I love TCM, History Channel and of course, Food Network.

As for mindless entertainment, HA!. When my Mom died, we had her cable turned off. Two weeks later I went back there for a week to clean out the house, etc... and almost went nuts!

There were the three network channels, one UHF channel and some Fox/UPN/WB type channel that would come in on her TV without cable.
I was faced with the choice of either soap operas all day or cartoons or the channel that played Jerry Springer THREE times a day and Maury and Judge Judy and Montel , and , and ,...ARRRGGGHHH!!!

I never realized how attached I was to my cable TV!

-chef-

[cynatnite]

48. I love Food Network...

I rarely ever watch NBC, CBS, ABC or the local Fox affiliate. Mostly crap. I'll do C-Span sometimes in the morning, but mostly TV stays off until afternoon, then I watch a little until kids come home. It goes off again until after 6pm when kids do homework, chores and dinner is finished.

If there is something on I don't like, I don't watch. Simple as that. I've also got email and my buying power to voice my dissatisfaction.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

38. Now wait just a minute

the cooking channels, TLC and all the gory medical shows, Noggin, Nick, National Geographic, 20 Spanish stations to practice with, Serius and pay for view, HB0 (my GOD, the Sopranos are coming back in two months!), The History Channel, Animal Planet. Lots of reasons to buy cable/satellite. I'm smart enough not to tune into the crap.

[Inland]

54. I also have sympathies for people with kids.

I know one isn't supposed to plop them down in front of the TV, but everyone does it anyway.

I had a friend, very erudite, literary person, who said...and I am not making this up..."I APPLAUD Barney". He had a two year old son.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

64. I live with a two-year old

I am an art teacher. I do every art thing imaginable. I read to him, play with him (as of course his parents do) and without Sponge Bob and Bob the Builder and Noggin, we would all go nuts.

[nomaco-10]

47. I get so tired of.....

being reminded of how we should all be sitting around suffering for our political beliefs. Life just wouldn't be worth living if we couldn't punish ourselves to prove how idealistic and dedicated to the fight for good to triumph over evil. What would you have us do, sit around and read Noam Chompsky all day? I can't cut off my cable, I'm too addicted to Project Runway. Even people of principles have to have some kind of guilty pleasure here in the depths of hell that is bush* world.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

52. Without cable

I wouldn't be on DU.

I have broadband telephone. No dial up.

[debbierlus]

61. Suffering????

You consider no t.v., suffering???

[Mabus]

53. Then we can all become people in a bubble

and not know what's going on until someone else tells us, just like Bush.

I to know what story the average person is getting from the MSM so I know what they are thinking. It is easier to combat the MSM when you're keeping tabs on them rather than ignoring them. Besides, I think it is better to watch and then call and e-mail them when they're wrong. Otherwise, the RW will continue to win because what few checks there are (people who watch and push them) will be gone.

[debbierlus]

66. That is bs.

What do you need to keep up to date with? The latest lie, the latest smear...

Keeping tabs on them....Go to the websites, you will know in a MINUTE the spin of the day.

[Mabus]

72. Well, okay then

Sounds like you've got your mind made up. Good luck with that.

[pauliedangerously]

91. I've read enough of this thread...

The thing is, debbierlus, most people aren't going to give up paying a monthly fee for television. There are plenty of "justifications" for subscribing to it just as there are for subscribing to religion, both of which I shun.

Yes, there are internet feeds for video and radio, but a television is easier to maintain and control than a computer; most people who say they have trouble with internet broadcasts probably have computers with barely enough RAM to function. It's easier to work a remote control with fifty buttons than a keyboard with over 100 buttons, and with tv all you have to do is press one button to change channels. On the internet, you have to actually think and have a goal in mind to find what you're looking for.

As far as movies goes, there's Netflix, which costs less than twenty dollars a month.

The problem most people have with the internet and a service like Netflix is that there are too many choices. Compare pressing one or two buttons on a remote control to locating a radio feed on the internet at a site like this:

http://www.radio-locator.com/

It's easier to just let the tv programmers decide on your choice in movie viewing for the evening than to toggle between netflix.com and imdb.com; plus, with Netflix, you have to wait a day or two for the movie to arrive. Most people will sacrifice choice for instant gratification.

Bottom line: whether donning a blue or red hat, the genpop is the genpop and it isn't going to give up paying monthly fees to jazz up the warm electronic sugar-teat it's been sucking on since before it knew how to talk.

[Baconfoot]

100. Now the food network is a religion? I knew a watched a lot but... NT

[jus_the_facts]

73. So not true....

....you get play by play of the MSM every single day here on DU...I don't live in a bubble and I've not bought TV goin' on 20yrs....most people still BUY into that line o'thinkin' because you're manipulated into believin' it...by the same people who profit most off it.

[Mabus]

113. Then I guess I'm a sucker

But I can think for myself. Just because they sell it doesn't mean I buy it. I could get all of my news from fellow DU'ers and (sometimes) their spin on it or I could watch it myself and make up my own mind. To totally surrender and only get my news from one source or filtered through a set group of people is such a foreign concept to me. I grew up with a healthy cynicism of the press, the government or anyone else that tells me I should only listen to what they think I should.

My education on being skeptical of the media started early in my life. My parents were politically active and taught us kids that most of what we saw on television was a type of propaganda. They encouraged us to watch television critically and not accept everything as truth. They taught us the same thing about books. I was taught to do my own research and not blindly accept what someone writes or says because the author or speaker has an agenda. This probably explains why I have done research work for a living most of my adult life. I know my obsessive-compulsive "need-to-know" nature led to research skills that got me through law school and a career as a researcher. For my job I have to be able to distinguish between the hype and the substance of issues. I have to look at issues from different perspectives depending on the client, the client's objectives and the client's best interests. I have to anticipate what arguments the other side will use, how they will use it and, more importantly, how they will present it. I worked for legal aid clinics and spent a lot of time with people. I interviewed clients, witnesses, cops, I learned to listen to what people aren't saying but are conveying through their choice of language, their mannerisms, the tonal quality of their voice, etc. This is why I find television so fascinating.

I'm also an active viewer. I hold them accountable. I don't sit here and watch television blindly hour after hour. When I do watch I inevitably end up sending an e-mail or make a phone call letting them know how they it wrong or what they should be reporting on. I could just let them think that they can get away scot-free but I believe in trying to change what we have while developing other outlets. I believe it is working. I think that people like me, who watch and give the MSM feedback on the internet are starting to have an effect. Back in 2000, when the news of Bush's DUI came out I watched the statements being made, who said what and how they said it. I knew immediately they were lying based on my experience in questioning people who don't want to be honest. I went on-line and found a request for help from Politex (at bushwatch.com) asking for help in proving Bush was lying about his DUI back in 2000. I sat down and watched the coverage on the MSM - I typed my own transcripts of the statements made by various parties, I went to the law library and found the old statutes applicable at the time & some case law and searched the internet until I found a copy of the docket card. I have represented DUI clients so I am familiar the basic procedures. I e-mailed what I pieced together and sent it to Politex. He thanked me and posted the information I gave him on his website as proof Bush was lying about the DUI. He updated it later with a better transcript. I think my watching the MSM coverage in tandem with the internet helped point out the discrepancies (Bush claimed he just paid a fine and never went to court - docket card indicated otherwise showing several court dates). Did it make a difference? Who knows? Since then I've done research for other websites and bloggers on other issues. I've been working for a long time to help make the media do its job and I don't want to give up now. I would rather reform what we can than abandon it to the other side completely. They are already running rough shod over us and I want to fight back.

Another reason I won't give up cable. Last year as I watched the local coverage leading up to the primary I wasn't satisfied with the depth of information I was getting. For one thing the local news outlet refused to investigate (beyond looking in local phone books) a company that was making survey calls on political issues. After they concluded no one knew where the calls came from and they couldn't locate the company they stopped reporting on it. I picked up the ball and tracked down the company. I also found out the clientele of the company and raised questions about who would benefit politically from it on a local forum. It raised a lot of questions and eventually forced the local news outlet to address it. I pushed them again when I went to the court house and got the donation records for the various candidates and published some information on-line. I listed the major donors, how much they were donating, how many of their companies and family members were contributing and what business these donors would have pending before the up-coming city commission. I also publicly questioned (on a local forum) why the local news didn't print the donation lists until after the elections. I credit them in publishing the information but it was always after the election. My questioning got enough people asking the same thing o fthe local news outlet that they ended publishing the donation records on-line. Then, using their on-line resources, I was able to show how some of the records appeared to be altered with disappearing donors. Because I held the local media accountable other people joined in. In fact, one of the things I originally researched started a Postal Investigation and another investigation by state authorities that ended just last week (http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/jan/12/campaign_finance_reports_reveal_postcards_backer/). This information was made available on DU only because I posted it. I guess I'd rather help try to push the news coverage in the direction that I want it to go - toward uncovering the truth. I believe I have helped prove that one person asking questions based on what they see or don't see being reported in the news can make a difference locally. I think that those of us who do watch the MSM and hold them accountable by watching, exchanging viewpoints on what each of us has seen, and then calling or e-mailing the reporter, the news network, etc. puts them on notice that there are people who know they aren't doing their job.

And yes, there are clips available on-line but not of everything I might want to see. Sometimes I have problems playing clips from crooksandliars or canofun. I'm also not willing to give up National Geographic, the old movie channels, ESPN, or my premium movie channels.

Finally, I live in tornado alley and believe me the sirens don't always go off when they need to. Being able to be connected to the MSM's local affiliates during storms is literally a lifesaver. During a storm a few years back I was watching the news and heard that a tornado was on the ground about a quarter of a mile from my friend's house. I knew he didn't have a television and he doesn't listen to the radio. I called him, and sure enough he didn't know what was going on. He was working in an interior room in his house and couldn't see outside. He hung up and promised to head to the basement. While his house didn't get hit directly by the tornado it did get a few windows broken by flying debris. Knowing my friend, if I hadn't told him there was a tornado nearby, he would have gone to check when the first window broke and may have gotten hurt by flying glass. And sure, maybe my calling him wouldn't have made a difference. Maybe he would have figured out what was going on and my watching television via cable (which is the only way I can get the local newscast and those from KC and Topeka because antennas don't work and radio reception sucks) and calling him wouldn't have made a difference. As I recall when this tornado was hitting my town no one posted about it on DU until after it was over.

For the most part, what I'm saying is that I'd rather work on reforming what we have otherwise they will win because they will completely control the major influence over the American public's opinions. But who knows, maybe someday I'll change my mind and will pull the plug.

Thanks for making me think about why I watch. This is definitely one of the reasons I come to DU. Other posters keep me on my toes and keep me questioning myself.

[Nabia2004]

55. I tried to cancel, but they bribed me with lower $14 a month fee

I have Basic Basic now. I rarely watch cable or MSM news, but C-Span, the International Channel, and CBC are a must for me.

[pitohui]

58. of course

does it count if you never had cable or satellite?

i'm so old i remember when teevee was supposed to be free, damned if i'll pay for it, and i've stuck to my guns all these years and beers

am i eccentric yet?

[Dulcinea]

75. Never.

It's the only way I can get NFL Sunday Ticket! And IFC, Sundance, and BBC America.

[Swede]

77. Stop reading too,there is so much trash out there.

It always puzzles me that people complain about the right wing destructive media, but continue to subsidize it and read it.

[Cleita]

79. Nooooooooo!

I still get stuff I like to watch on satellite, like LinkTV, HBO, the Sundance channel, Jon Stewart and others on the Comedy Channel, NASA and the BBC news.

[jane_pippin]

80. Well, after working 12 hours a day I rather enjoy sitting down

and watching The Daily Show and the Colbert Report while I eat my dinner. And I'm not sorry about it either.

I also enjoy Keith Olbermann's show, C-Span, Adult Swim, some HBO shows, and a few more that are out there. I don't watch FOX News, ever. And as far as advertising goes--well I'm not in half of the demographics the news channels market to, and since I'm not a male aged 18-34, I'm not in the Adult Swim & My Name Is Earl advertising market either so chances are any boycott I would do of their products would be totally meaningless as I don't buy most of them as it is.

I do, however, write to my congresspeople about media reform and beg them to come up with something that will fix this mess. I do write to local media outlets when they piss me off with their inane stories about cats stuck in trees or what have you, or parroting of GOP talking points. I'll keep doing that, and I'll keep watching my Colbert Report too.

You do what you have to do--more power to you. Just don't tell me what I have to do to earn some kind of liberal street cred, because it's kind of a turn off. We all have our choices to make as consumers, and I'm willing to live with the choices I've made.

Apologies for not responding, but I have to start the second leg of my work day now.

[Book Lover]

81. No, a al carte is the answer

I agree with you in part - I shouldn't be forced to subsidize cable networks I do not want to watch or that I object to. Rather than throwing away the tech advance of cable and satellite broadcasting, why not work to break the government-subsidized cable and satellite monopolies and allow consumers to purchase only what they want to get?

[onenote]

82. interesting concept of monopoly

Most people have a choice of two satellite providers and a cable company. That's a monopoly? And believe me, under an a la carte arrangement, you can kiss a lot of niche networks good bye, or expect to pay $5 or $6 apiece. Fauxnews is one of the more highly rated nets, so it will survive a la carte far more handily than a lot of other nets. At the end of the day -- less diversity, more media concentration.

I don't read Robert No-facts column in the newspaper, but I subsidize the inclusion of that column by buying the paper.

onenote

[Book Lover]

83. One cable company is a monopoly, yes

Not everyone can receive sat. Perhaps my use of the term was overextended slightly, but my point is made. There is very little choice for the consumer in terms of how video content is delivered in broadcast time.

And if smaller networks can't compete, then let them fall. Not every magazine that starts out survives either. Do we force subscribers to purchase every magazine that Hachette-Filipacchi publishes?

[onenote]

85. are you really endorsing big media over smaller networks?

Because with a la carte only networks with the deep pocket backing of the large media companies will survive and anyone who tries to get financing for an independent voice will be laughed out of the room. No thanks. There are plenty of channels on cable I don't watch and don't care if they are carried or not, but I'm guessing that an equal or greater number of people feel the same way about the channels that I watch.

Channels oriented towards ethnic and minority communities? Kiss 'em bye-bye.

You think that each channel is a separate magazine. But its just as valid to think of each package of signals as a separate magazine. I don't read every article in the magazines I subscribe to, but it wouldn't occur to me to demand that the magazine only sell me articles one by one.

onenote

[Book Lover]

87. Smaller networks can identify a different delivery channel to survive

Networks or producers can sell their shows directly to the consumer via streaming video, DVD, or another medium that you and I can't think of yet. Use your imagination.

[onenote]

88. expensive and/or time constrained

DVDs -- not the most convenient delivery mechanism. In the debates over whether to permit greater media concentration, when the repubs argued that there were other alternatives such as DVDs, those opposed to making it easier for big media companies to control the video marketplace justifiably laughed. As for the 'net...some day, maybe. But its hard to come up with the $$ for high quality programming, with high level talent, relying on the Internet. In addition, it again will be minorities that will be deprived of content...use of computers by African-Americans lags signficantly behind. Telling the 15 percent of the population in a particular market that is African-American that they can only get programming oriented towards their interests by watching it on a computer monitor is hardly the kind of diversity I think should be our goal.


onenote

[Book Lover]

102. I'm not sure I can agree

with your assertion that DVDs are not an efficient delivery mechanism. For instance, what's inefficient or inconvenient with the NetFlix model?

As for internet delivery - what's wrong with the torrent model, where you copy a file to your system, then watch it? No streaming video burden on the internet pipeline, and with one file, you get the whole viewing experience sans net hiccups. And people only get what they want, not a package filled with video they don't want. Plus, this delivery model opens the system to every interested producer with a camera and a script. All they have to do is shoot, edit, and put the torrent up online.

I would also assert that these small networks that we're talking about already cannot afford "high quality programming, with high level talent". How much money is spent on production of shows on the Food Network, for instance?

[onenote]

109. eventually

Over time, and how long is an interesting question, internet delivery of programming may become a truly viable model. But the penetration of high speed service still lags behind and, as mentioned, it is the segment of the audience most likely to lose out under an a la carte model -- minorities in particular -- that are least likely to have and use high speed internet service. And the netflix model, which limits a user to three dvds at a time -- is pretty cumbersome as a substitute for daily television programming (1/2 hour to 1 hour length predominantly).


Consider "Current TV" -- the network backed by Al Gore. It is available in 19 million homes. It probably can't survive at that level. It might make it eventually as an internet service, but it could never work as a DVD based service -- it has to be "current".

onenote

[MrSlayer]

84. Hell no. I need my HBO.

Deadwood is coming back in June, The Sopranos in March, Bill Maher in February, Rome in the fall, Plus the NFL Sunday ticket, NHL package, Comedy Central, C-Span. Just because the news stations suck doesn't mean I should give up what's good about DirectTV.

[Mutley]

86. If we all did that then the

Daily Show would have serious problems. No good.

[Frank Cannon]

90. I last had cable in 1990

Haven't missed it since. NEVER miss it. Gigantic bloody waste of money.

Want to see a particular sports event? Go to your nearest sports bar and play a couple of rounds of pool or air hockey with your significant other while you're waiting for the game. Have a beer. Make a few new friends.

Want to see a recently-released movie or popular cable TV show? Wait just a few more months and it will be out on DVD. Rent it at your nearest video store or Netflix it. Then watch it anytime, at your leisure.

Unless you're living in some podunk town with only ONE TV station, there is no reason to throw $50 a month away on cable. Absolutely none.

If you have cable, dump it. It will be the best thing you've ever done for yourself.

[txindy]

92. No way will I miss BBC America

It's one of the few channels worth watching.

[tallahasseedem]

93. Not a chance...

in fact I cant wait until my 50 inch plasma gets here!!!! Tell me...how does it feel to be up there on your high horse?

[Catchawave]

94. I'll keep my expanded cable to get

Keith, Jon, E!, HGTV, Foodnetwork and Sex and the City reruns on TBS. Dumped HBO last year when they required I get "the box"....ugh.

[timtom]

95. I did six months ago.

Haven't looked back.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

96. Sorry, I Like My Cable Too Much. I just simply don't watch what bothers me

It is an amazingly simplistic solution.

As far as getting rid of it just to spite the cable companies, it would take one hell of a movement for that to even be a blip on the radar, and I doubt we even have half a percent of people that would even consider it seriously.

Also, I hate the gas prices right now, but I'm not gonna get rid of my car either.

[Eric J in MN]

97. I'm interested in "Current TV," the new channel which Al Gore

is the chairman of.

I might cancel cable otherwise. I went without cable for about a year before "Current TV" started.

[NativeTexan]

98. I am a very dedicated Democrat, but....

.....I AIN'T GIVING UP MY HIGH DEFINITION!!...LOL

[0007]

99. I have a cable connection for internet use, which is the greatest

I like to watch Comedy Central. I like to watch the C-spans programs, I like to watch the documentaries on the Sundance channel. I'm not about to give it up.

Would you call up and have your power turned off because they are liars and support junior?

You do what you feel is necessary for you. But that's not the way to fight the problem with junior and his administration.

[rustydad]

101. Well

I watch only Link TV, Free Speach TV, Local news, C-Span, the Weather Channel.....only. Bob

[dogday]

103. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer

always need to see what the media is spoon feeding to the public. How else you gonna prove them wrong? Need to keep an eye on the media and document all fraudulent statements.

[Hamlette]

104. nobody watches cable news

whenever they piss me off I remind myself that the largest audience, O'Rielley, is about 2 million viewers. There are 300 million of us in America. Less than 1% watch that crap.

(Olberman is about 0.1% or 300,000. Tweety is around that number too.)

[jzodda]

106. I'll be keeping my Direct TV thanks though

and I love it. Screw the news shows but I will NEVER give up

Sci Fi channel
NFL sunday ticket
HBO
Stars/Encore channels
History Channel
NY times discovery channel

My fav show happens to be cable only Battlestar Galactica...and you want me to give it up because I am also paying for fox news? Well I have hundreds of channels and I never watch a whole mess of them, so why should I give up my TV for some news channel?

To your whole premise into 4 words

Mind Your Own Business

I am not saying that to be mean, but just to make the point that nobody should be trying to tell me what I can and can not watch. If you want to protest and live in a bubble go right ahead. I will be watching my Direct TV though and LOVING it.

[DemGirl7]

108. I find the right wing media to be a good source of laughs

To me, its kind of like watching one continuous episode of some really funny soap opera, and that is the reason I watch. I used to get mad at the disgusting stuff that they say and rude behavior they exhibit, but now I just laugh my ass off of their stupidity. And with every big story that breaks in the news, comes a opportunity to see the fools make even bigger idiots out of themselves. Plus there are some channels I just can't live without.

[Triana]

110. I got rid of cable teevee in 2001

and I haven't had it since. It's all garbage and propaganda. I catch cspan on the net and the net is where I get all my news. My television hasn't been on at all in OVER a year.

Who needs it?

[The Straight Story]

111. Screw that crap

My TV has over 100 channels, 4 of which I think are news. I am a an adult and know how the remote works. I won't let a station like fox scare me off from watching other things I enjoy.

I buy a newspaper, which runs AP stories...ooohhh bad. I am on DU which links to a lot of right wing things in ways. Such is life.

I am an adult and can discern what I see and hear and read. And I don't think so little of my fellow humans that I feel like they are dumb enough to believe all they see. Are democrats the party of arrogance? Are we in a position to tell people they should only see news our way because they are too dumb? Yeah, that will get em to vote for us in droves....

I have a choice, it has two batteries and a channel changing button. I use it.

[LittleClarkie]

112. Mitts offa my CSPAN

I just don't watch cable news, is all.

If I wanted to stop subsidizing all things Republican, I'd have to stop doing alot more than watching cable.

[drfresh]

114. Hell no. How would I watch the Daily Show?

Or Sean Hannity for that matter? :puke:

[MetaTrope]

116. I only watch import DVDs

From Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and India. At least, for the last 10 years. Have I missed anything?