The emergence of sanity ? I mean, why do we need the news ? What of vital importance would we miss ? I trust that if there was nuclear war we’d figure it out.
Isn't it astounding that, after being fed poop sandwiches for content over the last decade and a half, a lot of people are deciding they've had their fill and are no longer interested? Who could have guessed?
A glimmer of hope EDIT to add: but it probably just means people are getting their beliefs confirmed through other means that are some combination of more siloed, less informative, and lacking any nuance.
I guess the news is kind of like soap operas for people interested in politics and what's going on around the world. I will always follow the news because it's fascinating to me. I probably watch less cable news than I ever have. It's redundant, predictable, and increasingly one-sided in a way that just isn't that interesting. The pay walls have also made it harder to read a some of the better reporting. I also wonder about how people self report. My mom claims she's not watching as much news but she always seem to know about every story out there. I have another friend who says he doesn't follow the news, but he's somehow heard about every anti Biden angle out there, lol.
I still read the major websites including Fox News just to see what their latest outrage du jour is. But I only turn on news on TV if something big is happening. I can’t remember the last time I just randomly watched any sort of news on TV.
A significant piece to be sure. The move from the major "news" services to TikTok and Youtube is a part. But I'm betting that what I would call "outrage fatigue" is another key contributor here.
It doesn't matter which outlet it is, consuming too much puts people in a really bad headspace. Nothing scientific, just anecdotal from seeing and interacting with peeps who sit and watch news for hours on end. Yes, you want to know what is happening in the world, but find something else to do. As stated above, the outlets focus on bad news because it sells (insert that old song " dirty laundry" here).
Seriously though, it’s all nonsense. BEFORE ‘Covid’ trust in media was charted at all time lows. And Americans goose-stepped to media reportage.
Americans in 2019: “Hell, I don’t trust a damn thing the media says.” Americans in 2020: “Hello, operator ? I see people who aren’t wearing masks. Who do I report them too ?”
I take my news like I take my sports. I don't need a bunch of talking heads giving me their meaningless picks or breakdowns of action. I'll watch the live sporting event and form my own opinion. I don't need opinions fed to me
People still receive news. They just get it from non traditional news sources. Unfortunately a lot of those sources have the potential to be more unreliable than the big boys. The local news used to be the most trustworthy but they were all bought out by large corporations
MSM are the true deplorables. During ‘Covid’ it never asked the first hard question, the answers to which might have greatly allayed hysteria. But if it bleeds, it leads and finish with the rescue of a puppy down the well.
I'm worried about the future with less and less local news. For example, in Jax, we had local politicians wanting to sell publicly owned JEA to a private company. Literally one single reporter for the local newspaper blew the entire story up with all the payoffs, backroom deals, and stink on this potential sale. It was impressive local reporting that was beneficial to Jax. And all that seems to be slowly disappearing.