The last time I watched the news voluntarily for more than two minutes was the 2008 presidential elections. The time before was that was the 2004 elections, I think. I try to read the New York Times more often, but that endeavor usually turns out to be as successful as my sporadic flossing regimens. To be honest, I usually find traditional news simultaneously boring and overwhelming. There are a few sources that do keep me in the loop, though. This American Life and The Daily Show are my two regular media fixes that I can enjoy while keeping track of the world outside my window.
1. If you’ve never listened to This American Life on public radio before, you’ll think it sounds stupid when I say that I was stirring my boiling macaroni in captivated suspense this afternoon while I listened to a story about a man trying to produce a puppy channel on TV and why guys like Rupert Madoff rejected the idea. Without encountering This American Life before, you couldn’t understand how this weekly radio show breaks apart the folklore of American life – faith, disaster, love, entrepreneurship, history, and epiphany – and separates it into the tiny, personal stories that created these mega-themes. This American Life is not a news show. However, it does spend a lot of time explaining American trends and culture that I hadn’t understood before listening. For me, the one hour show is the opportunity to reflect about the unique and sometimes absurd directions people's lives can take them and consider the route that I am taking. Download a podcast of the show for free from itunes and check out their site at thisamericanlife.org.
2. Okay – it’s not a real news program. Real news doesn’t make poop jokes or have nearly as diverse a team of reporters. However, despite the fact that The Daily Show is intended to be entertainment, you still get more truth per minute (tpm) than you would from watching FOX and you can catch quick highlights of the day’s events without having to pretend that you are a current events/world affairs expert. Of course, The Colbert Report is another legitimate fake news option if a faux depiction of right-wing conservative republicans is what you are after, but I still find Jon Stewart’s satire a more daring attempt to unveil the biased, misleading, and self-serving beast that American news media has become.
Traditional TV news is just not right for me, and for all I know, my methods might not be right for you. However, I do think that keeping up with the news is important, and should not be painful to injest. If you need a new method, try reading blogs; checking out local newspapers (which are usually much thinner/quicker to read than The Globe); or reading newsmagazines like Time, which give more in-depth stories once a week, rather than brief stories every day. Be realistic while you’re looking at your options; if the source bores you on the first day, you’re not going to be able to force yourself through it week after week, so don’t waste your time.
Even though keeping up with the news seems geeky, it provides many useful skills, like being able to relate history to current events in essays for class, and being better at shouting out answers while watching Jeopardy, not to mention molding you into an informed and engaged citizen. Once you find a good source, it can be easy to do thoughtful, interesting, and intellectual activities all on your own!
1 comment:
This American Life is so good. Have you ever watched videos from the Onion? They're not real stories, but they're still really fun to watch.
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