Pulling the plug on Corporate News

[Atman]

I've discovered an unexpected "benefit" to the nauseating 24/7 Death Watch we've been on for the past three weeks, first with Schiavo, and now the Pope-A-Thon. When it became apparent that the Corporate News outlets had no intention of telling us anything real going on in the world -- such as news about the dollar; the WMD report; the body count in Iraq really being about 10,000; the educational consortium finding the election was likely rigged; etc, etc -- I finally gave up. Fuck this shit. Why do I play into their hands.

I KNOW what news is really going on, so why subject myself to the lies? You're supposed to suspend disbelief when you watch a good popcorn movie, but NOT when you watch the news. So I turned 'em all off. No Corporate News since last Friday.

I feel almost cleansed. Not exactly Springtime Fresh, but better. Turning off the teevee is like a douche for brain. Try it!

[JHBowden]

1. I gave it up in August

when the corporate media repeated the garbage from the swiftboat liars 24/7. Been getting my info from the internet since.

[realFedUp]

2. definitely get off the junk....n/t

[liberal N proud]

3. Congratulations!

I have been corporate news free since 11/04/04!
My mornings have been quite, I get up log on and look at news where I can trust the source or at least verify multiple sources with the same story instead of turning on the BOOB's on the TUBE.

[Atman]

6. I have to admit...

Watching the Corporate News is akin to listening to Limbaugh. I enjoy hearing the lardass squeel in the run-up to the elections, just so I know what "the enemy" is being told to think should I find myself engaged in a discussion. His comedy routine gets downright hysterical. But now that his guys are in control, it all just becomes mean-spirited, hatefull snarking. Serving no purpose but to incite.

CNN et al (well, Fox excepted) aren't nearly as bad as Limbaugh, but I watch for the same reason; I kinda like to know what the "official" party line is so I'm not caught off guard. I can see myself spitting a Hakke Beck all over an unsuspecting Wal Martyr(TM)..."THEY'RE TELLING YOU WHAT?" But now, like Limbaugh, it's gotten just plain whacky. I feel like I'm living a chapter of Alice In Wonderland or something, where reality doesn't matter. So fuck 'em.

I'm not even sure it's about ratings anymore. CNN hardly reaches anyone, anyway, just a few hundred thousand viewers on a good day. They saw the reaction the public had to interfering with the Schiavos, yet they're doing the exact same thing, stuffing it in our faces, making the personal tragedy public business, for no more noble a cause than Tom DeLay's self-serving horseshit. So what gives? The sad reality (since we get to make up our own now, apparently) is that the Corporate Media, far from being a liberal fantasy scapegoat, is far more a fascist tool then most of us thought possible. Corporate Cable News is just a modern day Pravda; our television sets serve as the bulletin board in the public square.

The Pope-A-Thon and the Schindler Family Easter Week Celebration were as revealing as any real "news" any of the Corporate News channels could have produced.

[Clark2008]

7. OMG!

That couldn't be more perfect if it tried! I had NEVER thought of that before! :thumbsup:

[Atman]

10. Thanks! A couple of links...

L.I.A.R.S. Shirt

L.I.A.R.S. Bumper Sticker

B-)

[Clark2008]

4. I'm not completely Corporate News-free.

I still watch Keith Olbermann.
But, other than that, I don't.

Of course, to me, he's like the cherry on top of my big ole Internet-news-only hot fudge sundae.

:D

[democrank]

5. Good for you, Atman.

"Almost cleansed", isn`t that the truth? I`ve been corporate media-free since November 4, 2004.

If I want some hard core tv news, I tune in to Link TV or Free Speech TV. They each carry Democracy Now`s one-hour news show and it`s terrific. Each network carries a lot of stuff you`ll not see anywhere else.

[unhappycamper]

8. Lou Dobbs & Jon Stewart

Other than that, I am CON-free.

[ClassWarrior]

9. I just surf the "fable news networks" now.

With the exception of "Democracy Now!," "Countdown," and Amy Goodman's occasional Radical RW slapdown on the Tweety Show, I get all my news from the Internets and Progressive radio now.

:hi: Atman, btw...

NGU.

[cestpaspossible]

11. Take the next step, stop paying them.

Why would I pay for propaganda that I don't want?

[ClassWarrior]

12. The folks at Fox Blocker...

...are encouraging you to have your cable system block Fox. Apparently by law the cable system must block any channel you request. So why stop at Fox? I, for instance, can block every Fable News Network ('cept MSRNC for my "Countdown" fix) and I send a strong signal up the corporate feed chain.

http://foxblocker.com/

NGU.

[cestpaspossible]

13. Why pay Rupert Murdoch at all?

It makes no sense to pay for CNN or Fox if you don't want their product.

[ClassWarrior]

15. That's another option. I'm just passing along info.

NGU.

[FourStarDemocrat]

14. I pulled the plug on them last fall..

with the exception of occasional viewing of Keith Olbermann's show, and Newsnight w/ Aaron Brown, the television has been off for corporate news, and my household is a much happier, peaceful place as a result.

[OneBlueSky]

16. haven't watched tv infotainment in two years . . .

and I'm far more well informed that those who get their "news" from the tube . . . one of the great revelations has been that I really don't need pundits to tell me what to think about an issue . . . particularly since they are almost uniformly biased in their "analysis" . . . don't want 'em, don't need 'em, don't miss 'em . . .