Protecting our minds in a bad news world

Here's some good news...

"On This Day" Milestones (April 30)
  • First US President: In 1789, George Washington was inaugurated as the first President of the United States at Federal Hall in New York City.
  • Discovery of the Electron: 129 years ago (1897), physicist J.J. Thomson announced the discovery of the electron, a discovery that fundamentally changed our understanding of atomic structure.
  • Culinary History: The ice cream cone made its debut at the St. Louis World's Fair on this day in 1904.
  • International Jazz Day: Today is officially recognized as International Jazz Day, celebrating the genre's role in promoting peace and dialogue.
 
I've commented on this subject in the past. Just don't watch TV much, and its often powered off for days. OTA for decades and no streaming services. Do see the Internet news site aggregator headlines like Google News, but avoid polluting myself with much by reading any. Like I cannot affect any of what is going on and like @bobcat noted, much is depressing and purposely manipulative. I do go right to the Science news tabs and sometimes Sports. Here is one I read today:

Research Finally Decodes the Brain’s Smell Map
Research Finally Decodes the Brain’s Smell Map - Neuroscience News

Also am not a member of any post smartphone social media sites. And am very resistant to any click bait advertising, especially anything seksual which seems to be rampant on the web in this era. Who are all these males that cannot resist? And likewise all those viewing the thread subject news? Most all posting herein seem to be heading towards my Counterculture oriented attitude of...

Tuned in & Dropped Out
 
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My take on this is something I learned one day when I went to the Mall with the Abbot of the monastery. When we were walking towards the entrance I said " Shields up" like Star trek stuff. He understood and replies " No, Shields down" and continued to enter the crammed noisy Mall with an open and gentle demeanor.

I learned the greatest protection I could have comes with acceptance of the way things are. Not by rejecting that which bothers me, or by not listening to people I disagree with. The more I fight trying to stay sane, the more insane I become. :)
 
Sometimes I feel a need to disengage from the local news (tons of shooting each other!! Every day 🙏 it's always horrible and depressing news. I am back to watching the news again. Taking a break from the news. I am doing that more and more now.

Instead I do something that helps me escape from reality. Like good blues music 🎶 I also play a bunch of Google play games. Trying to keep up with cleaning. I can only do ra little then have to rest until the next day.

I think about this topic a lot. I tell myself there is always bad news and good news and good other things too. I sometimes want to hear about some news on the national news.

So I watch that then change it to something else. Movies are also good diversion! I have to sort through the movie information to find something that's not like the news! I enjoy movies about how people deal with their lives and comedy and romances -that makes me feel better! I should get more diverse in doing productive things like getting back slowly to my artwork.
 
Sometimes I see negative stuff. I noticed that I read the Newspaper just like my mom. Once I had an exam and hadn't studied. It would be the next day. No time to put that whole book in my head. I told my mom. How am I gonna do it? Oh, she says, just read it like I read the Newspaper. Only the headlines. LOL I did and I passed it.

But I notice that if I see some horrible headline I think: yeah horrible, skip, next oooh Germany saves whale Timmy. Lets read it and look at the livestream on youtube. Aww he's so cute.

And then I read on Facebook that they tortured a guy in Egypt and it had a pic of him, looks like a real friendly man, because he had become christian and was first muslim. That made me so furious. How dare they. So I prayed for him that he will be set free. I thought Egypt was normal. People go on vacation there. Apparently not.
 
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Bad news sells, makes money and other news doesn't. The news is not a public service, never was by intention. It loses money, generally, even with bad news. The purpose of TV radio and papers is profit, not entertainment or nice messages. Always was and is.
I hate commercials, and a reason I don't watch much news, or silence it. CNN and PBS must make profits too and PBS is losing because it's fed funds were cut. Unfortunately, good pleasant news is not gripping or exciting as you know. I agree that BBC is more neutral to a point..but everyone has biases of some kind, even if it is unknown. Human nature.
 
At one time, news programs operated for the public good.

The Radio Act of 1927 and the Communications Act of 1934 mandated that broadcasters serve the "public interest, convenience, and necessity" in exchange for using the public airwaves. For decades, TV networks treated their news divisions as loss-leaders for prestige and public service before they became major profit centers in the 1980s.

In response to the above post, PBS doesn't make a profit. It operates as a non-profit.
 
The news has been so depressing that it was affecting my health. I have begun reading books that are far removed from current events. Right now I am reading and enjoying Shelby Van Pelt's "Remarkably Bright Creatures" which is sometimes called That Octous Book. They have made a movie of it starring Sally Field. It should be interesting.
 
VaughanJB said:
I employ a particular mindset (for the most part).

I, like most here, am toward the end of my life. If ever there was a time to be selfish then it's now. As such, I concern myself mostly with what affects me personally.

I am no longer tethered to profit and loss, costs, share prices, and projections. I am just me.

The problem as I see it is, people are gravitating - perhaps naturally - toward sources that agree with them. This, in fact, was the problem all along. You end up in an information silo, where what you see are things you agree with, be it an idea, some hate, some faith. We stop learning, and look for enforcement.

One of the biggest lies is the so called "alternative media". Let me tell you, there is NO alternative media. Every single media outlet, big and small, is controlled through the same mechanisms and demands. I wish people would wake up themselves before they tell others to wake up. But then, perhaps I'm just dreaming. :D
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Most media operates on a profit or loss basis but public broadcasters like the Australian ABC or the British BBC are government funded alternatives and have a charter that requires them to provide the public with important and balanced news. They have no need for sensational images to attract attention to their stories designed to increase advertising revenues.

Click here if you want to explore the differences. ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
 
Warrigal said:
Bunk? Explain yourself? A full sentence is preferred.
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"You are ignoring content by this member."
So I don't know how or why your latest rude remark was visible.
I don't think there are any members here- or on 'that other forum'- that need you to explain the English language. I certainly don't.
 
Sunkist said:
"You are ignoring content by this member."
So I don't know how or why your latest rude remark was visible.
I don't think there are any members here- or on 'that other forum'- that need you to explain the English language. I certainly don't.
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Sorry, but I don't get how this statement " think you may have explained the psychological mechanics of the thing better than any I've seen so far" warrants a one word put dowm.
 
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