Does a falling blog make a noise is there is nobody around to hear it? Sure, anyone who wants to look at the internet can do so, but what if everyone is on holiday and doesn’t want to? Is a blog with no readers really a blog? Does what I call a “professional” blog give us an insight into that profession when it is published or when it is read or when it is widely read?
I have noticed that although many of my favourite blogs are still going during the summer holidays, the number of comments and quality of debate is well down. I am looking forward to reading people’s July stats. Mine will be as close to zero as usual, I expect.
Personally I have found it much harder to think of blog post topics since I disconnected myself from The News. I no longer feel the need to switch to BBC1 at 22.00, nor again to BBC2 at 22.30. I no longer find myself idling away unforgiving seconds on The Times web site. I don’t even pick up the Metro on the rare occasions I get the tube into work.
And do you know what? It’s lovely. It feels almost rebellious. Ignorance can be utter bliss. An interesting thought experiment for you: would the average person on the street have been as affected by the initial credit crunch if he or she had not had it rammed down his or her throat by the media? Would the average person have suddenly stopped spending when they were told of the impending recession? How much of the boom and then the bust was exaggerated by herd mentality?
Don’t get me wrong, I think that the dissemination of factual information is vital. But I do wonder about the hysteria of the contemporary news reporter. Reporting the facts is no longer interesting: we have to have concerned voices and Fire & Brimstone consequences. As kids we used to laugh at movie trailers where a voiceover would say in an authoritative Hollywood tone something like “it was a time of war…”. These days the headlines are reported in that tone. Why can’t they just say “nothing much happened today”?
This is kind of what I was trying to say with the ‘No News is Good News’ thing a few months back. If you ignore the world, and the news, and just concentrate only on the stuff that affects your day-to-day life, the world is suddenly a nicer, more enjoyable, more friendly place.
Politics is (has always been) just the stuff that gets in the way of that and interferes. The trick, I think, is to not let it bother you.
Ignorance might sound like bliss, but I don’t want to miss a chance to get even angrier at Labour – it spurs me on when it comes to blogging and local campaigning!
Blue Eyes, have you not heard the news? We are at war with the French, man. Meet in the town square, and bring your rifle!
Well I don’t know about the recession, but you try getting a table in a decent restaurant in Glasgow. Even on a Wednesday.
I suppose they are all public-sector employees.
Dead on Blue Eyes, it’s an uncomfortable fact that news is starting to resemble entertainment, and as a result, plain factual news is a thing of the past.
It needs to shock us/interest us/draw us in. Sky/ITV/most others in the international arena are corporate, and therefore run for profit, not for the common interest. So the need to attract viewers in order to charge for advertising which is how they make profit, so they will move to the lowest common denominator-sensationalism and overly visual stories that shock but do not tend to give a clear picture. Did anyone see the Charlie Brooker show called Newswipe recently? Takes apart the modern news show brilliantly, and charts the rise of opinion over fact, and conflict/striking visuals over news. Oh yeah, and the fact that 80% of ‘news’ is actually PR and most reporters are too lazy to go after a story-scary stuff.
I also get annoyed about editorial slant that promotes one opinion over another. Great e.g. in the Times today: “Watchdog accused of rushing out organics report.” That isn’t factual as it exaggerates one opinion over another-if it was plain news it would be “Watchdog releases organics report.” Then a synopsis of what it said, then equal space given to those who disagree. But reporting it like that totally changes the tone and leads the reader to a specific conclusion. Grrrr, maybe I should stop reading the papers too….
Ted, what is frustrating is that the Beeb *could* and *should* be doing the factual stuff and not the glamorous dramanews thing but it doesn’t and so the whole point is undermined. I would love the BBC to become an unashamedly elitist high-brow organisation with perhaps one TV channel and a couple of radio stations. Unfortunately the reverse has happened and it is chasing ITV to the bottom.
Very good point BE. I might have noticed interest rates falling through the floor though. I doubt I would have noticed the VAT cut, or the scrappage scheme. As for green energy.. wouldn’t have had a clue.
I might try this turn off the\ news for a bit.