I don’t think its a matter of disagreeing, (because there is a lot that I do agree with you about in your previous post) but having different perspectives on this particular subject matter and how we choose to consume. Just to be clear though, I hope you are not taking my criticisms as an attack on you and others who choose to watch Television or for that matter Fox News. My intent is to remind people to use the proper filters and not lose perspective on what is means to be human in the broader scope of things.
If you choose to consume with watching Television just as you lay out what it is you watch then that is perfectly your choice and I am not criticizing that, but I only ask if time is better spent doing other things that could be more productive than listening to opinions.
My woke moment in regards to MSM came about 15 years ago as I was addicted to watching Fox News all the time. The moment came while in the kitchen preparing a meal I could hear the TV blaring in the other room of people arguing over a political issue. I came to the realization that this was a negative energy that was allowed in my home due to serving my own addictions and it was at that time I turned off the television for good and listened intently to silence. I also realized that what I was consuming was not only a distraction from what I was supposed to be focused on but was also robbing my time of quality. As a result of cutting the cord, my life dramatically improved, both in health and my over all perspective.
Television is not natural, but being informed is primal to our species, and thus we are susceptible to being seduced to being misinformed for the obvious reasons that you articulate. Yes I agree everyone wants to be heard, however what I am advocating is that the proper filters be used when listening to others express their opinions when you have no ability to engage in the conversation or refute what someone says while they are saying it and this is where you are powerless when giant media corporations are manipulating the national narrative.
This is what I call objective viewing, because there is no one there to give you commentary or express their own opinions about what is happening. At least that is my interpretation when watching “C-Span”. Just as this OP-ED points out about Sheppard Smith giving his opinions on Trump’s speech as opposed to allowing his speech to be free of commentary without the personal bias is really the difference between allowing viewers to make up their own minds or telling viewers what to think.
It all comes down to consumption, and there is something to be said about quality over quantity, as we reached a point in our society that MSM culture is now but a tool that is being used as a propaganda march in the hedgerows of new hegemonic terms being defined by corporatism to keep perpetuating chaos and confusion.
I will leave you with this to ponder. I have been working on a book in which extensive researched had to be conducted in order to understand my main thesis which is Media. The quote is from a essay of Douglas Kellner, a critical Theorist on Media Culture.
Excerpt by:
CULTURAL STUDIES, MULTICULTURALISM, AND MEDIA CULTURE
*By Douglas Kellner *
Radio, television, film, and the other products of media culture provide materials out of which we forge our very identities; our sense of selfhood; our notion of what it means to be male or female; our sense of class, of ethnicity and race, of nationality, of sexuality; and of “us” and “them.” Media images help shape our view of the world and our deepest values: what we consider good or bad, positive or negative, moral or evil. Media stories provide the symbols, myths, and resources through which we constitute a common culture and through the appropriation of which we insert ourselves into this culture. Media spectacles demonstrate who has power and who is powerless, who is allowed to exercise force and violence, and who is not. They dramatize and legitimate the power of the forces that be and show the powerless that they must stay in their places or be oppressed.
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We are immersed from cradle to grave in a media and consumer society and thus it is important to learn how to understand, interpret, and criticize its meanings and messages. The media are a profound and often misperceived source of cultural pedagogy: They contribute to educating us how to behave and what to think, feel, believe, fear, and desire -- and what not to. The media are forms of pedagogy which teach us how to be men and women. They show us how to dress, look and consume; how to react to members of different social groups; how to be popular and successful and how to avoid failure; and how to conform to the dominant system of norms, values, practices, and institutions. Consequently, the gaining of critical media literacy is an important resource for individuals and citizens in learning how to cope with a seductive cultural environment. Learning how to read, criticize, and resist socio-cultural manipulation can help empower oneself in relation to dominant forms of media and culture. It can enhance individual sovereignty vis-a-vis media culture and give people more power over their cultural environment."*