Xenophase :: View topic » Does the news seem like fiction, or does it seem like part of life?

Posted: 18 Apr 2010 11:35 PM

It is constantly juxtaposed with and presented as entertainment.
So, does it all seem like a big story happening somewhere else, to other people, or even at another time?

Flesh it out. =)

Level 12 Joined: 03 Mar 2004 Posts: 156 Rating: -15

I see it all the time on Fox, I mean, Faux News.

Posted: 19 Apr 2010 10:05 AM

Depends where you get your news.

Banned Joined: 18 Nov 2004 Posts: 931 Rating: 108

well news isn't supposed to be mundane, so naturally it may appear ficticious, and when there isn't much to a story, it may be hyperbolized

Posted: 19 Apr 2010 11:28 AM

Ah, I can't edit my rated post...

What I meant to say is that:

Just by reading the newspaper (ie. local or world news) or say watching the 6 o'clock news on TV (the actual, genuine, regular news broadcast), have you ever felt like whatever that's happening in the world or in the local community isn't as real to you as the news should be?

Do you feel that the way newspapers are written or news is broadcasted distances you from the actual piece of information that is presented and causes you to feel that it doesn't pertain to you at all? Or does the presentation not matter at all, and it's just the news or information itself that feels like entertainment?

ie. (and just an example, no value or hidden meaning intended)
If there's a war in another country on a different continent from yours that may or may not affect you at all and you see news broadcasts about it on TV, how would you feel towards it? Would it be like watching reality TV or would you be interested enough to adapt that as part of something that happened in your life (that it affects you too)? Or would this news just be information thrown at you and you just don't care at all?

Posted: 21 Apr 2010 07:15 PM

I understood the topic title first glance, and I think this is a pretty good thread. It's something I've often pondered to myself, actually. I think it's a mix of reader interpretation, and the sources we get our information from.

As an example, I find I have a hard time relating to international stories, or even stories from outside my province, as I have never traveled very far (yet Wink

), and I have never experienced these places or seen these things. We don't get tornadoes, earthquakes, or floods here in Nova Scotia, and it's hard to comprehend that amount of naturally caused disaster. At the same time, as I have had my home completely destroyed by fire once, I can relate to people in a similar situation.

As for our information sources, I imagine it's well-nigh impossible to bring the news, straight and unedited while still pleasing the general TV audience. The same can be said with print media, usually to a lesser extent, but all the same. Personal opinions and biases of the producers of news media play a role, intentional or not, a person's thoughts and feelings about a particular subject can influence how they portray it to others.

Wow it's late, I am tired and fuzzy-headed, and I have work in the early AM, time to cut this short and get some sleep, but that's my main thoughts on the subject.

Classy thread, I dig it.

Posted: 22 Apr 2010 04:36 PM

the news is constantly showing the most shocking and interesting things going on in the world. if people die, you hear about it. they systematically desensitize us to things that should be extreme and expose us to things like death constantly. so yea its real, but dont take it to heart.

news is also censored by "the man" so the things u hear arent all exactly the truth or the whole story. anything that blemishes their reputation wont be shown, and they dont address subjects that will get them in trouble unlike the internet does.