For a few months last year I had a self imposed news black out. I cancelled the paper and stopped watching the news. I found myself sinking into depression and being constantly anxious about all of the bad news. I spent more time reading and writing in my journal. I felt better pretty quickly. But news has crept back into my life....and it isn't any better than it was last year. The broadcasts last evening about the two children, one missing for days whose body was found, apparently murdered by the mother's boyfriend and one tortured and starved to death.
As a mother I am horrified. As a human being I am dismayed. If as an adult, I can not handle or process this information, how can we expect our children to? Remember when we were kids and had school assignments re: current affairs? Frankly, I don't want my children reading the paper or watching the news....the current affairs are just sickening. I think I'll return to my black out....there just isn't enough paxil in the world to help me deal with the anxiety that tv brings into my house.

I love the blackout idea. Murders, accidents, rapes, etc. seem to be multiplying! I am going to give this blackout a try but this is my problem...don't ask me where I got this from but I have this thing about watching the weather at 11:00. For some reason I like to know what the weather is going to be for the next few days. I like hearing the local guys/gals give their version. However, what I don't like about the news is that they don't put the weather on until 11:15 or so. Like a goofball I end up hearing all the rotten stuff and often doze during the weather. Maybe this blackout will move me to dial the weather recording and get to bed earlier too! I will keep you posted! I also have to get my husband to buy into it. He despises the disgusting stories but he tries to stay awake for the sports... and ends up dozing too! If they could just put the weather and sports on first!

The weather channel is on 24/7 -- with your local weather on the 8's (08,18,28 etc) of the hour -- at least in our area and they only tell you the weather ;-)

ESPN is the sports news and nothing but the sports news --

AND if you don't have cable to get these stations - do what I have done -- watch the news one time and note the time the weather and sports are on -- they do it every night at the same time -- and click over to the news at those times.

In between -- play with your pets, kids, hubby -- knit, sing, write -- anything that makes you smile inside -- and let the world roll on ---

because I've noticed one thing -- even missing the news and all the bad in the world -- the sun still rose in the morning ;-)

[ December 20, 2002, 10:55 AM: Message edited by: lionspaaw ]

One thing to keep in mind is that news media in this country are businesses out to make a profit. TV knows that its ratings go up when it broadcasts sensational stories. Ont the other hand, public TV and radio are non-commercial and don't have to satisfy advertisers. I _only_ attend to news on these stations and consider local news to be junk. Another thing -- if you go to a public library and look at newspapers from the 1800s, you'll find many of the same stories that shock us today. The thing is that the definition of news includes things that are out of order, extra-ordinary, not run of the mill stuff. I think it's all of our duty to be informed about what's going on, and to ask for the important information _expecially_ women and especially mothers! Why don't we know what goes on in city and town councils? What about the bills that are pending? These aren't on TV because viewers find them boring, but this is information we need to govern ourselves. I said this in my post about children and TV -- the airwaves belong to the public -- I learned this on the playground, and it's still true today. Why have we let the advertisers take control? TV doesn't care about our children. I sometimes wonder whether sugar cereal would even exist if TV didn't advertise directly to children? Did you all know that when the FCC asked TV stations to increase their educational broadcasts, the stations got away with calling "The Flintstones" and "The Jetsons" educational? (I'm not making this up!)

One thing to keep in mind is that news media in this country are businesses out to make a profit. TV knows that its ratings go up when it broadcasts sensational stories. Ont the other hand, public TV and radio are non-commercial and don't have to satisfy advertisers. I _only_ attend to news on these stations and consider local news to be junk. Another thing -- if you go to a public library and look at newspapers from the 1800s, you'll find many of the same stories that shock us today. The thing is that the definition of news includes things that are out of order, extra-ordinary, not run of the mill stuff. I think it's all of our duty to be informed about what's going on, and to ask for the important information _expecially_ women and especially mothers! Why don't we know what goes on in city and town councils? What about the bills that are pending? These aren't on TV because viewers find them boring, but this is information we need to govern ourselves. I said this in my post about children and TV -- the airwaves belong to the public -- I learned this on the playground, and it's still true today. Why have we let the advertisers take control? TV doesn't care about our children. I sometimes wonder whether sugar cereal would even exist if TV didn't advertise directly to children? Did you all know that when the FCC asked TV stations to increase their educational broadcasts, the stations got away with calling "The Flintstones" and "The Jetsons" educational? (I'm not making this up!)