I was just contacted about my "viewing choices"...

[Ladyhawk]

...by the Nielsen (sp.?) ratings folks.

I told them I had no television service and would not allow cable television in my home because the news media had become a megaphone for the White House, the Republican Party and corporations. I wonder...do they care? She said she was writing down my preferences: NONE. Hehe.

Someday I may get television again, but right now I couldn't afford it even if I wanted it. I'm even thinking of getting rid of my telephone service.

[ohkay]

1. But then..

You miss the Daily Show!

[cheezus]

7. that's what bittorrent is for

[imenja]

2. all they care about is what you watch

It's her job to record what you watch on TV, period.
By the way, some of the satellite services have broadcasts of international news. I used to have DirectTV and there were a few fascinating channels that were far from commercial. One contained a lot of alternative documentaries and news reports. I don't recall the name exactly, world TV or something like that.

[Ms. Clio]

6. Used to be called World Link, now it's just Link-TV

Great documentaries and world music videos.

I got a questionnaire from Nielsen not too long ago, and noted that the only programs I usually watch are on C-SPAN 1 and 2, Link-TV, Free Speech TV, Comedy Central, and Cartoon Network.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[crispini]

4. I wish they would call ME.

1. Olbermann
2. the Daily Show

that'd be fun to tell someone! :D

[catmandu57]

5. You guys are'nt listening

Ladyhawk does'nt have the money to support cable and it's repiggie owners, so she's had this choice forced on her. I understand about wanting to kill it, if it was'nt for my wife wanting certain programs the cable would be black here as well.
As far as the telephone it's harder to live without phone service now than it used to be, especially if you have a computer to support.
I know the people who called you were just doing their job Ladyhawk, I hope though that the message didn't go in one ear and out the other.

[Ladyhawk]

8. Probably it did go in one ear and out the other.

Cable is available in my new apartment; dish isn't. If I could afford it, I would do Dish Network. When I had TV I watched documentaries, mostly. I also watched The Daily Show and Adult Swim.

Cable is more expensive than Dish and they give you fewer choices. When I inquired about the local programming, they didn't carry Comedy Central (Daily Show), Cartoon Network (Adult Swim) or Animal Planet (documentaries), so I said, "Forget it" and walked out. They mostly carry sports channels and crap I don't like or approve of (corporate TV), so why feed the beast?

As for telephone service, I can use broadband Internet to dial out. Soon, programs might be available for ringing in. At that point, I'll ditch the landline, keep the broad band. I'm pretty sure that DSL functions at a different frequency than regular telephone service and that you can have your telephone service switched off without it affecting DSL. I'll have to double-check that, but if broadband call-in becomes available in a cheap program, I'll do that.