Monday 8 January 2018

No news is good news???

Have you noticed just how selective the News is on the television?  We sit, mesmerised by what is going on on the screen, only half taking most of it in.   But, when we stop to think, in spite of the fact that we live in a 'free' country where we can say and think exactly what we like, the News seems to be censored heavily.

It is mostly gloom and doom.   Wouldn't it be good if now and then there was an item of news which lifted the spirits? 

Some pieces of news miss being reported altogether.   For example, an Iranian oil tanker collided with a cargo ship off the coast of China.   I have yet to see it reported.   I may well have missed a bulletin it was on - but surely it should have had headline reporting for at least one day.
Sometimes, the news on the headlines all sounds so very dreadful that I switch if off before the story comes on in full. Is this cowardly?   I think not because the way it is reported is usually only one view and not necessarily a true version.

Local news is even worse in terms of content.  Only very rarely is it that the headline is not a murder or a burglary.  Only very rarely is the headline something good, something pleasant, an achievement to be proud of.
 
All this doom and gloom leads us to believe that the world is a wicked place, that things are getting worse by  the day and that nothing has improved.
To counteract this is will just give you an instance from the weekly article in The Times today about things that have improved:   Global economy grew by three percent last year, global poverty is at its lowest level (yes there is still a long way to go to eradicate this, but an improvement is surely something to feel good about),  there are few airline crashes (1 crash for every 16million flights)
making flying the safest it has ever been.   Matthew  Syed, the writer of this weekly article, is particularly pleased about his last statistic - interracial marriages soar - he himself is the product of such a marriage but, my goodness, how times have changed since the late sixties when his mother, out with his older brother in the pram, was spat upon in the street.

We must be optimistic about the future, we must not always expect the worst.   This is the only world we have to live in - let's make the most of it in the spirit of optimism as we go into 2018.

20 comments:

justjill said...

It is difficult to think positively. This country is going down the pan. I will probably be more cheerful and positive when finished the antibiotics!

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

I am an early riser. A program ran at 6am that only showed good news and sweet human interest stories. It was a good way to start my day. However, it got cancelled and was replaced with hard-hitting news. It is better to start one’s day with a good walk, however, with the freezing temperatures we are having now, going out in that weather might make me a statistic for the noon news.

Hard up Hester said...

I tend to avoid most of the news programs, far too depressing and usually so biased too.

Granny Sue said...

I was surprised to realize that the bad storm and flooding in Ireland last week wasn't covered here in the States. But the media seems mesmerized by the demonstrations in Iran. Can't figure that out. I listen to public radio, no TV here, and it's a little better than the usual outlets, but still a lot of gloom and doom.

Ruth said...

It's so hard to keep a proper perspective when every bit of information we can access isn't necessarily factual - most of it is slanted to fit the agenda of the writer and his beliefs. I had these lines of Elizabeth Barrett Browning posted on my bulletin board when I was working - I need to remind myself now late in my retirement:

There are nettles everywhere,

But smooth green grasses are more common still;

The blue of heaven is larger than the cloud; (From Aurora Leigh)

If only we can ignore the nettles and concentrate on what's beautiful and plentiful all around us.

Simon Douglas Thompson said...

Human nature being what it is, bad news sells. And that's a hard thing to change

Anonymous said...

Well said - we need more uplifting news to remind us that we do live in a predominantly good world. I watched a news article at the weekend it was celebrating the life of a Kenyan lady who was 117 years old and was throwing a party for her family who were now scattered all over the world. She had been the 5th of six wives and had seven children and belonged to a special tribe. I think she even built the home she lived in. What a wonderful woman and family. I am not sure it was on the prime time news though I caught it on the BBC 24 hour news chanel.

Gwil W said...

On one of my links I read that 6 billionaires control 80% of the British news media. I think it's just as bad in the US. They were also down there around 40th place along with France and Britain. Yes, France, Britain, America. Three countries that once led the world. I understand why Trump there's a lot of fake news. Millions of people know thus is true. But they refuse to examine the facts. We are one or two steps away from being mere robots and sheep unless someone can find a solution. If not Trump, then who?

Terra said...

The news here is terribly slanted and biased, and I agree it would be good to hear more about good and upbeat things. Philippians 4:8 tells us to think on what is true, what is pure, what is noble. Good advice 2,000 years ago and today.

Joanne Noragon said...

You are right, Weave. It is the only world we have, at least in our lifetime.

Bonnie said...

What a wise and wonderful observation! If only more could be like you Weave! We could all use more optimism! Thank you!

Mac n' Janet said...

Things do get better, but oh, it takes forever. Last week they reported that black unemployment is at its lowest level in 45 years.

Cro Magnon said...

There has been very little news of Syria recently, and as such Assad and Putin have taken the opportunity to increase their atrocities. Those poor people, before long it will be a country with just one city; where Assad and his supporters live.

Derek Faulkner said...

I love my daily fix of news at 6.00 each evening and have only ever watched the BBC national news, which locally is very good and well balanced. I have always been happy to take the news as it comes and have never given a thought as to whether I'm being fed the wrong type of news. It has never crossed my mind to pull it's content apart as you and Rachel have recently, but then I don't give a stuff about what's going on in Syria and other parts of the Middle East. News channels are like newspapers, we have our favourites and deride others, I mean there are people who read the Sun and believe what they read, some even have brains.

Librarian said...

The oil tanker collision was on German news, I saw it on one of our state-run main news programs.
Like some others here have said, bad news sell, and sell is what media companies want to do - which is legitimate, of course, but at least we should be more or less be able to trust our official news channels to report facts without filtering them too much.

Rachel Phillips said...

The US and Russia have defeated ISIS in Syria. Assad did not start the war. Anti government rebels started it. Assad is not a saint but like Egypt and Iraq before him his country was a country that rumbled along with finery and happy friendly people and fine cities and streets and houses. The news channels here do not tell the truth about any leaders. They distort and cherry pick and lose context to suit their politics.

Heather said...

I have given up watching the news, as you say it is all doom and gloom and how can we be sure we are being told the whole truth. One bit has filtered through to me and I hope it is true - the hole in the ozone layer is healing. Have governments always forgotten what they are there for? Do they all line their own pockets and fail to improve life for those who really need it? Maybe I have become too cynical in my old age.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thank you for your interesting comments everyone. I can't sayI am more optimistic after reading them, but I shall continue to watch Breakfast TV and to watch the six o'clock news - that's all on the news front.

Midmarsh John said...

I gave up watching any television news several years ago. As you say it is mostly doom and gloom. Remember the days when ITV late news would always end with an amusing item? Very rarely listen to news on the radio either. I prefer to scour the internet where I can read the items which interest me.

Sue said...

I lost my faith in the BBC news when they stopoed being unbiased in their previously half decent reporting.

There are lots of good news stories still around but few programmes seem to bother reporting them. Oh for the days when the late night news used to end with '... and finally' and along came a feel good factor report or something to make you chuckle before you went to bed.