I almost hate to read, see, or hear the NEWS any more!

[Lance]

You, too?

[david johnson]

Yes, me too. I am suspicious of what is said/printed beyond the local news. On national/international news I sometimes check both right/left-wingy 'reports' and assume the truth is in the mid-range.

[jserraglio]

The Players Championship is on the Golf Channel, NBC, ESPN+ and Peacock today through Sunday.

I’ll be watching it.

[diegobueno]

Lance,

Stop watching Fox News! Stop watching your Sinclair-owned station.
Problem solved.

[maestrob]

Lance,

Stop watching Fox News! Stop watching your Sinclair-owned station.
Problem solved.

Ditto.

[Belle]

Lance, I recommend you stick to music but if you have to listen to news avoid the activist media which only wants to send you a message with each item. That isn't just Fox but all mainstream media today - particularly the 'newspapers of record'.

You can always tell because of the way a story is framed where the bias lies. One very small example:

Woman murders her wife: held on bail in home detention (this has happened in Australia).
The story details how the spouse was killed in a house fire and the wife is suspect number 1.

Under all these types of domestic violence stories we always get a caveat: a phone number at the bottom of the story to call if you're 'concerned that this issue has raised concerns for you'. This always appears when men are arrested in suspected DV cases. No such warning was issued in the case of this female suspect. Nor has it ever been pinned to any other former incident involving a female or females in matters of violence or murder. Rules for some and not for others.

Our partisan ABC: as my son just sarcastically wrote, "they must have been having a busy day at the ABC today because they left that phone number off the bottom of this item"!!

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-15/ ... /103591912

[Lance]

Belle, you're a peach! I'll take your advice and listen to music. I don't watch much media news on TV (Fox, CNN, etc.), just reading what comes forth on my MSN feeds, lots of news and not much of it any good. Probably it doesn't help to be watching Law & Order: Special Victims Unit just before going to bed. Horrible stories and dream-makers allowing 4-6 hours of broken up sleep. I'll choose BACH instead.

[barney]

As I've said before, I am a news junkie. I subscribe to The Age, The Australian, Herald-sun (leading Aus papers), the New Yorker, New York Times, Spectator, Truthout, and various online news services, from the Guardian to the National Catholic Reporter. I spend hours a day on them.

Increasingly, I am agreeing with Lance. This is not necessarily good for my mental health or stress levels. But I'm not sure I can change.

[Belle]

As I've said before, I am a news junkie. I subscribe to The Age, The Australian, Herald-sun (leading Aus papers), the New Yorker, New York Times, Spectator, Truthout, and various online news services, from the Guardian to the National Catholic Reporter. I spend hours a day on them.

Increasingly, I am agreeing with Lance. This is not necessarily good for my mental health or stress levels. But I'm not sure I can change.

Discrimination is the key; finding out which of those has credibility and which merely activist cant. I recognize the latter in a few of those organizations you've mentioned so that frees up my day for more intelligent fare. Be more discriminating, that's my advice. (Yes, it's probably a gerund, but it works.)

So, here's my problem; if news sites/platforms/individuals/bien pensant continue to cling onto absurd ideas that they want to force upon others (eg. gender reassignment is good for minors otherwise they'll kill themselves; that we are all racist, sexist, homophobes; it's good to let the world into your country uninvited and unexamined because there shouldn't be borders anyway - the list is long) that nullifies their right/s to arbitrate on the views of others and their 'acceptability' - or in them having any credibility to decide whether or not these belong inside the 'Overton Window', aka the 'polite society'. In the final analysis it demonstrates hypocrisy. Thinking that you have the best ideas doesn't make it so. You can demonize others and call them 'deplorables' and disregard their views, but stand by for somebody like Trump. I think his supporters are done with somebody else's version of "polite".

The 'sensible centre' vanished some time ago.

This extremely intelligent and prescient man saw everything that is happening today well over 30 years ago; it's actually chilling to watch this and see how it has unfolded exactly as Dr. Sowell said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC_py0M3Cpo

[barney]

Belle, they all have their blind spots and agendas, including the ones you like, such as The Australian. It's my belief you have to read both (or more) sides, or you are just staring into the echo chamber.

[Belle]

Belle, they all have their blind spots and agendas, including the ones you like, such as The Australian. It's my belief you have to read both (or more) sides, or you are just staring into the echo chamber.

I have to disagree here for two reasons. Firstly, The Australian is more open about its leanings; it frequently has left wing writers - even the PM has a column from time to time. Secondly, their philosophy is basically conservative - and they're open about it - which can be gleaned by the nature of the essays, op eds and stories they carry. Not least editorials.

They don't hide behind 'centrism' or pretend to be 'reasonable' in order to prosecute a hard left progressive agenda. What you see is what you get.

I cannot read "The Guardian" as it's the old Socialist Weekly rebadged.