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Does "news" really stand for North, East, West, South? Or maybe it stands for Nothing Else Worth Showing? OK, OK, we're not anti-news at all—we like to get plenty of it, and we watch our share of TV news and news talk shows... as long as one of the 12 daily reruns of "Seinfeld" isn't on. And our favorite newscaster of all time? Nnnnewman. Edwin... Newman.
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News helps shape people's political opinions, including the way they view environmental issues. The news sources we choose—which newspaper or network, which reporters, which news anchors, which cable news talk shows—all have an impact on
what information we get and how the stories are portrayed. All of these news entities put their own spin on the stories, sometimes intentionally, sometimes out of ignorance. Regardless, their presentation of the news and their opinions influence our own views and opinions.
Over the last decade, corporate media has come to increasingly dominate the airwaves, resulting in a watered-down version of news that is chock-full of droning newsreaders and bickering blowhards but mostly devoid of quality journalism. No phenomenon better represents this trend than the rise in popularity of news talk shows.
Some "news pundits" are open about their political leanings, but most disguise them or claim political neutrality. We know intuitively that all members of this news "chattering class"—the hosts of news-talk shows and their guests—have their biases. After all, these shows are largely about the hosts and guests giving us their opinions. Some talking heads lean to the left; some lean to the right—though observation says that right-wingers like Limbaugh, Hannity, and O'Reilly dominate the news-talk-show landscape, reinforcing status-quo-think and serving the government-corporate plutocracy that has replaced our democratic republic.
Whatever their failings, news talk shows are popular. Many people are now not only viewing news-talk
shows as a source of entertaining political banter but also as a primary source of news. But there are several dangers in relying on these shows for news:
- The hosts rarely have moderate political views, so the "facts" are usually presented through a highly biased looking glass. Even on shows with "dueling hosts," the hosts are usually so polarized that each frames issues in simple black and white, leaving out the important complexities found in the grays.
- The shows rarely give you much background information on an issue or delve into the nuances of the subject; rather, the discussions focus on factoids, debating points, and zingers.
- Most importantly, just like the "news" found on corporate media outlets, mainstream news talk shows usually only cover "safe" topics—those that don't ruffle the feathers of those in the governmental and corporate ruling class.
This last point is worth expanding upon. When is the last time you heard a news talk show discuss any of the following?
- The ongoing disinformation campaign being waged by Exxon-Mobil, the coal industry, and other fossil-fuel interests to confuse the public about the indisputable realities and mounting dangers of global warming.
- The loads of circumstantial evidence that some members of the US government had prior knowledge of—and perhaps were even complicit in—the events of 9/11, including the fact that multiple war games based on "planes crashing into buildings" just happen to have been planned and executed that very day, thus confusing and rendering impotent any air-defense response that might have prevented the tragedies.
- The high level of "body burden" of chemicals that all Americans carry because of the billions of pounds of toxic chemicals unleashed on us every year; and, in spite of the incontrovertible evidence of this, the lack of investigative reporting on the collusion between chemical manufacturers and the US government to leave chemical regulations largely unchanged.
These are only three examples of unreported stories that have great impact on our lives. There are many more. (See more at Project Censored.) Neither news outlets or news talk shows discuss these things, because the ruling elites do not want them discussed.
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News-talk shows can be a lot of fun to watch, and they can help us sort through the logic of various issues, but they're a poor substitute for legitimate, balanced news programs. However, if you're like the Grinning Planet team and you need that occasional fix of news talk, you might consider checking out some of the better news talk shows on the internet (presented below). Your IQ—"information quotient"—will thank you.
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Resources for News Talk Shows
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