Why I’ve decided to stop watching the News this year
On trying to be more discerning
Living a life that matters means I need to guard my attention, energy and time wisely. Otherwise, I will use too much of these resources on stuff that doesn’t matter and have less of them for what does. So, I’ve made some changes.
But before I get to that, a big shout out HELLO!!! to my subscribers. So far, you come from New Zealand, United Kingdom, Spain, Mongolia and the USA. Very cool and glad to be of service.
Right, back to it…
I used to sit down to eat breakfast - usually a bowl of Tess’ delicious homemade roasted muesli together with fresh or stewed fruit and a dollop of homemade yoghurt (my favourite is honey and vanilla) - and had my iPad sitting next to me on the table so I could scan the News. Tess didn’t eat breakfast then, so she went to work in her office.
Last year, I noticed how this habit made me feel. In short, I felt more distracted, anxious, and filled up too early in the day. When I went to my loft to begin work, I saw that my creativity was harder to stir into action. And I didn’t like it one bit.
To be clear, the News was awful.
Last year, towards the end, the News was a constant stream of the terrible drama in the Ukraine with stories of invasion, bloodshed, innocent victims and hopelessness. Then, Hamas decided to invade a massive event in Israel, as you know, killing hundreds. That kicked off an enormous response by Israel, which, regardless of your loyalties or affiliations, has resulted in death, destruction, dislocation, poverty and so on.
I’m not finished yet.
In addition to these two huge stories dominating the News, we had the elections in New Zealand. Good god, what a ridiculous state of affairs that was. Stories abounded about this policy, that policy, this statement, that one, this guy was ghosting the media being incredibly rude to them, that person was trying for the life of them not to appear sour. It just went on and on.
And you know what?
One day, after watching the News and seeing all the above repeatedly, it hit me, “I just don’t want all this rubbish in my life!”
Now, please hear me; I do not mean to demean the experience of those involved or affected by the events of war in any way. I’m actually the son of a Polish war refugee who was kicked out of their home by Russian soldiers on the 10th of February, 1940 and sent to the gulags of Soviet Siberia. It’s a huge story, and I can share more about it sometime. I wrote a book about it with Dad.
As neither of the two war situations mentioned above is connected to me, there is little need for me to know daily and hourly updates about them.
There are three main reasons why I do NOT need to watch, listen to, or read News. (One of these reasons you will not have heard about before.)
Firstly, there is nothing I can do about the situation.
They are far away; I have no involvement with Ukraine or Palestine, and there is no way to influence anything to do with either situation. Even if I had a Palestinian friend, I would seek to listen, support and help them in any way I could, depending on what they were experiencing at the time, here in NZ. I don’t need the News for that.
Secondly, the content, character and tone of what was reported was, frankly, embarrassing.
Regarding the NZ elections, I just don’t care for that kind of stream of thought and sound. I want to live a life that matters to me, others and my world. Hearing once again about some inane behaviour by a politician, while everyone’s waiting to find out the election result, is just plain use-less.
Thirdly, I want to fill my attention, mind and life with ideas, learning, experiences and people I enjoy and like to know about.
I want to ensure they’ll help me be more interesting, helpful, and wise. Since much of the News is reactionary, once-over-lightly, and trivial, exposing myself to that won’t help. Worse, it can influence me to be reactionary and trivial as well.
Fourthly, and this is the one you will only know if you’ve worked in a newsroom, there is the whole nature of commercial News itself.
In short, they deliberately manufacture stories from various angles to create more fodder for keeping the story alive because, quite crudely, there is money in it for them.
Let’s spy on the newsroom
A few years ago, I ran a workshop on media skills for the partners of a major law firm. We invited a Wellington news correspondent to come and explain how News worked so we could prepare our partners to respond as well as possible if they were ever interviewed by journalists.
She said this: When a new news story breaks, the journalism team sits down in a room and begins to brainstorm possible other stories that we could publish as well. For example, she said, say the Prime Minister was caught speeding through Ashburton (a small town near Christchurch) on the way to the airport because she was late for the flight. So, we think there is a story in that.
[RB - Not because it’s something we need to know. I mean, who the hell needs to know that?! But because the ‘story’ will sell papers or keep eyeballs on.]
The team then starts brainstorming ideas for further stories to come up with different angles that will help them keep the story alive for longer. And so that they can be more unusual and exciting, which, in turn, keeps the story alive for longer. By now, you know why they want to do that!
If the Prime Minister sped through Ashburton, here are some possible angles for other stories: -Where else has the Prime Minister been speeding? -If the PM has been speeding, what other laws has she broken? -When she was speeding, did she endanger any pedestrians? -What’s the (her party) policy on Ministers caught breaking the law? -Will anyone hold her accountable? -If she’s caught speeding and gets a ticket, who pays for it? -What else do PMs get away with that we don’t know about? And on and on it goes.
Now, really, does any of this add anything valuable, substantial or essential to your life and mine?
Hopefully, you can see that by understanding how the game works, we can see it for what it is, not what they tell us it is, making it easier to choose not to play.
To me, this is an essential trait of those who consciously choose to live a life that matters.
Now, if you work in areas related to these fields, such as social change, social work, community support and so on, you may very well see it as essential to know every nuance of what’s going on. But even then, how important is knowing all the made-up tidbits when actively helping someone with their current situation?
Let’s recap
I have decided to stop paying attention to the News: - I cannot do anything about 99% of what comes over the bulletins - I don’t subscribe to the values and character of the content or its producers - I want to take control of what I pay attention to and ensure I fill my attention and mind with ideas and knowledge that help me become a better and wiser person - I know how the game works and want to avoid playing.
And the Outcome?
I’m thoroughly enjoying the experience.
I have more mental space to consider what I value the most.
I haven’t missed out on anything.
If anyone asks me what I think about a news story, I tell them, “Well, I don’t watch the news much.” They tend to either say, “Oh,” and we move on to something else, or “Oh, well it’s important”, to which I say, “What’s it all about in a nutshell?”
I feel more in control and focused on what matters.
I’m making good use of my attention, energy and time.
If there was one word here that I would use to describe the ability to be aware, know and choose accordingly, it would be ‘discernment.’
We need to be discerning. In a world that is increasingly fractured, busy, noisy and confusing, learning to be more discerning will serve us and those we love and connect with better.
Questions to think and talk about
What have you chosen to do without for reasons of values or flavour?
Do you watch/read/listen to the News? What are your main reasons for doing so?
Do you get incensed by TV journalists’ often abysmal presenting skills?!? I do! (It’s my professional broadcasting training - their vocal delivery and emphasis is often woeful.)
What is something you’ve learned or heard about recently that you think IS worth knowing? Please share in the comments.