I hate watching the news. Sure it's great for giving you a quick 5 minute viewpoint of the news, but that's the problem. It's a viewpoint. Every new source is biased in some ways.
Last weekend, I was waiting to check into my hotel and PandoraCon when I heard some statement. It was about the government shutdown (over for now, yay!). In a very subtle way, the program blamed the Republicans. My mind though, “Ah, MSNBC!” Lo and behold, it was.
In fact, the two news sources I trust the least are MSNBC and FOX News. Both were designed to be biased news, to give you a skewed news point, one left, one right. Usually it's subtle, but it's always true. If the news is important, they are untrustworthy.
And that's the problem. All news sources are biased. I know most FOX news viewers say that CNN is biased too. I'm not sure what any of them say about BBC News. Maybe the BBC is the best way to *watch* the news. But I think there's a better method… Don't watch… or listen… to the news. READ!
Yes. All written word is just as biased. But the big thing is the medium. As a podcaster, I've learned the power of the audio format. People get to know you better… or at least they feel they know you. I can't tell you how many people come up to me and say, “I listen to your podcast, Marc. I've never met you, but I feel like I know you.” It's true. With just spoken words, I make people feel like they know me.
Hmm. That makes me wonder how many people feel the same way about Limbaugh or Howard Stern…
Video is even more powerful and compelling. I was listening to the audiobook of “The Tipping Point” on the way to Cincinnati. They talked about the 1984 election of Ronald Reagan. Some researchers video taped the three newscasters: Tom Brokaw, Dan Rather, and Peter Jennings. The researchers had people watch each newscaster without the sound. The goal was to see their response to the news based on visual cues. Peter Jennings stood out. Each time he talked about Reagan, there were microexpressions of pleasure and happiness. Lo and behold, people who watched Jennings typically voted for Reagan.
Of course that raises all sorts of questions. Were Reagan fans more likely to watch Jennings than if they watched the other two newscasters? Whether that's the case or not the point, I believe, is still valid. Video is an even more powerful manipulative resource.
I'll be honest. I'm not the most-informed news person. I read only the highlights on Google News, which offers a random sampling of news sources. I only glance at the news. If I want more information, I read multiple viewpoints or do what I did recently was get some feedback from friends on Facebook. To me, that's the most-judicious way to get the news without being manipulated… too much.
