Quitting Cable News
Being retired has given you time to reflect on the current state of the world and what can be done to improve it. Unfortunately, all this introspection has made you dig in and harden your positions, whatever they may be. As it turns out, most of us don’t really want to broaden our perspective at this point in life. Critical thinking and objectivity are the last thing anyone wants. This is what makes cable news so seductive. As long as you choose the right network, cable news will reassure you that you were right all along.
When it comes to cable news and commentary, there are three types of people: Fox viewers, MSNBC viewers, and young people. Young people don’t watch TV, never mind cable TV. What news they do get is curated by various algorithms and presented as a stream of nonstop dance videos, selfies, cute animal photos and health supplement ads.
The difference between streaming and cable is that one is delivered over the internet for free and one is not. One gathers as much data as it can steal off your device, the other charges exorbitant monthly fees and rents you obsolete equipment. One assumes you spend all day in from of a television set, the other assumes you spent all day staring at your phone.
If you think your cable provider offers too many choices, wait until you dive into the deep end of the internet. There is a proud legacy of conspiracy theories on the internet, many dating from before the internet even existed. Take the faked moon landings for example, or the CIA assassination of JFK.
Cable news, whether you subscribe to the left- or right-leaning channels, is designed primarily to make you upset. It is about the outrage, excess, and the criminal nature of whatever or whoever you happen to be against. But if you are getting tired of the same old Tucker Carlson or Joe Scarborough, or just want to see what you might be missing out on, here are some alternative news sources you may want to consider.
Social Media. Facts never stand in the way of getting the important news of the day out there. Facebook, for example, offers up content ranging from granny’s inspirational religious tidbits to the latest neo-nazi take on the day’s events. Twitter offers a more balanced diet of hate and vitriol. You can find poisonous commentary from far right to way left and everything in between. And with a name like Truth Social, you can be pretty sure they are dealing in anything but.
Network News. Yes, the good old evening news still exists. It’s hard to believe the broadcast networks still bother, but they actually still have news departments, correspondents and fancy sets just like Cable News. They claim to be objective, which is pretty easy when the average story length is 15 seconds or less. It’s hard to jam much in the way of analysis or insight into that time slot.
Local TV News. On the plus side, local news tends to shy away from the politically divisive stuff, focusing on more practical topics like weather, fires, traffic, police arrests and the occasional heartwarming human interest story. The downside is that a heavy diet of local news tends to get fairly repetitive and predictable.
CNN. Technically also a cable news outlet. In fact, they invented it. This network is widely available in international markets, especially western hotels. Its popularity is based on the fact that it is the only english language channel available. For the rest of us in markets where there are more english language options, CNN is a lot less compelling. It is just too boring. Who really needs a five minute world weather summary featuring elevator music and a rolling screen of city names with temperatures listed in degrees Celsius? You don’t need to know the temperature in Mumbai. Just know it is hot.
Newspapers. These should automatically be disqualified because you have to read them. But surprisingly, many have made the transition to digital world with video heavy websites. Liberal strongholds like the New York Times, Washington Post as well as the right leaning Wall Street Journal seem to have found a place in the new news ecosystem. Just bring your reading glasses.
Nut Case Networks. These are the pretenders to the Cable News crown. Your OAN and NewsMax. Although they call themselves news outlets, their content is so libelous that even the cable operators have largely dropped them like hot potatoes.
Late night talk shows. Also a reliable source of commentary on the days headlines. The only challenge is that the news can be a bit stale, since no one watches these shows on the day they are taped because they are too late at night.
On reflection, maybe cable news is the best option. At least you can rest easy knowing that your world view was right all along.
