Info-tainment

I am one of those people who need blinders. Again, I think this goes back to my focus problem. Too much information, and off I go, in any direction. This is why I hate the news.

I don't actually hate the news. Just... I try not to watch it. Because mostly, I feel like they're trying to sell me the Bad News. Really, I don't need to see so much Bad News. So I don't watch the local news, nor the national nightly news programs. And I really never, ever watch CNN. Except for right now (because it's historic) and when I'm at the gym (because I don't have a choice and can't change the TVs and it's always on).

CNN gets me all worked up. Usually, what's on there is not actual "news." It's frothy panic, delivered by some random shellacked lady, or Wolf Blitzer. All that Casey Anthony stuff? CNN. Financial crisis? They'll serve it to you 100 different ways. I worry enough as it is -- I don't need new reasons delivered to me 24 hours a day.

However, I listen to the radio pretty much all day long. Every few hours, Carl Kassel comes on and tells me what's happening. That doesn't seem to bother me. He is soothing. Add in a few hours of Morning Edition, Fresh Air, and All Things Considered, plus On the Media at bedtime (which is... news about news?) and I am probably getting more information than I would if I just looked at CNN all day. 

Occasionally, I get annoyed at NPR for being complacently liberal. Often, I get annoyed at all the other channels for being too full of hysteria. When this happens, I read my Google news feed. It is nice to be reminded that there are other sources of information besides the New York Times.

What's my point? I don't know. Sometimes it gets overwhelming. I get all worked up about an issue that I only know a little bit about. I have just enough information to cause a panic. And then I lie awake at night, wheels churning, or I subject poor Cabana Boy to my aimless rants. I guess I could dive in, learn more, and be truly informed. Or I could tune out completely and live in blissful ignorance. Eh, neither solution sounds reasonable. Maybe I could try the most radical of all: stop worrying.

The one source of news I do love, and will always believe in? The Daily Show.