• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

I'm Really Fed Up With TV Media

landtuna

landtuna

As we get closer to the general election and suffering through a landslide of political commercials and "news" coverage I am getting more and more disgusted with the media in general and specifically TV media.

First, the commercials. I spent several hours today watching part of a local morning show then later an hour or so of a local digi-net. I was inundated with scores of political commercials - the same one over and over and over again. One party seems to do this much more than the other but both are IMHO self-defeating and extremely irritating. I have already quit watching several all-time favorite shows because of this issue. As it was I usually watch only some live sports on TV except for the occasional old movie or classic show. As TV "news" coverage continues to decline I find myself turning more and more to online sources without the invasive commercial load.

Then, the "news" coverage. Several channels broke into normal programming with "breaking news" covering the first public speeches by the new Harris-Walz campaign. These irritate me no end. There is nothing of a valid news content in these as candidates - no matter which party - are always preaching to the choir with content consisting of vapid "we will win" and not much else. Broadcast them if you must but please don't interrupt normal programming or call it "breaking news". Lately I find myself watching the morning headlines on local TV and skipping national and specialty news programming entirely.

IMHO the media are doing a really lousy job of presenting quality political coverage, both of events and the candidates themselves. The abysmal circuses known as political debates are perfect evidence. Not only are they not bonafide debates (where issues are discussed one at a time) but rather juvenile shouting matches. Totally worthless. And why do the media allow candidates to outright lie without challenging or seemingly any sort of fact checking?
 
It's TV. I suppose that's part of the problem. The viewers begin to diminish, the voices get more shrill. Maybe PBS News is different? I know they have some really good, extensive reports on world events, so they seem capable of decent reporting.

Personally, I don't watch TV. I haven't since maybe 2011. So I can avoid a lot of the media overkill.
 
$4.5 million spent in Republican primary races, targeting the few Republicans who opposed universal vouchers. The ads were rambling word salads of MAGA talking points. Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville won't get Presidential business. The Tri-Cities borders and is partially in Virginia, also reaches North Carolina; and Chattanooga has some of Georgia in its market area, so they'll be inundated.
 
There’s a lawn somewhere that needs protecting from those darned kids.

There’s also a reason for the commercials, and they’re a huge help to the station operators in the battlegrounds in particular, alongside the national platforms. They work. Not on people are intransigently aligned one way or the other, but the persuadable middle.

Businesses generally exist to make money. It pays employees. It’s a good thing to actually bring in cash.
 
AbrahamJSimpson said:
There’s a lawn somewhere that needs protecting from those darned kids.

There’s also a reason for the commercials, and they’re a huge help to the station operators in the battlegrounds in particular, alongside the national platforms. They work. Not on people are intransigently aligned one way or the other, but the persuadable middle.

Businesses generally exist to make money. It pays employees. It’s a good thing to actually bring in cash.
Click to expand...
Politics should not be a business and that’s the problem. Make it a public service like it’s supposed to be and not who can make the most money in office and his country would be a better place.

No reason for billions of dollars to be spent on campaigns.
 
landtuna said:
IMHO the media are doing a really lousy job of presenting quality political coverage, both of events and the candidates themselves.
Click to expand...

To have quality political coverage, you need quality political candidates. It's like sports. You can have award winning sports reporters. But if they're covering a bad team, it's going to suck. The news isn't supposed to be entertaining. It's supposed to be informative. If the speeches are boring, that's because getting the traffic lights synchronized is a boring job. The mistake we make is thinking news is like reality TV. Then the reality stars get elected, and go on TV all the time because that's all they know. They don't know how to run government because they've never done it. They think government is the problem. They don't get their health care from Medicare.

So the problem isn't the media. The media is just a thing. It's a medium between the candidates and the voters. Someone said the people get the government they deserve. That's very true. If you're angry at the media, you're angry at the wrong thing.
 
TheBigA said:
To have quality political coverage, you need quality political candidates. It's like sports. You can have award winning sports reporters. But if they're covering a bad team, it's going to suck. The news isn't supposed to be entertaining. It's supposed to be informative. If the speeches are boring, that's because getting the traffic lights synchronized is a boring job. The mistake we make is thinking news is like reality TV. Then the reality stars get elected, and go on TV all the time because that's all they know. They don't know how to run government because they've never done it. They think government is the problem. They don't get their health care from Medicare.

So the problem isn't the media. The media is just a thing. It's a medium between the candidates and the voters. Someone said the people get the government they deserve. That's very true. If you're angry at the media, you're angry at the wrong thing.
Click to expand...
You could argue that the media created this mess going after ratings. Look at the Fox News model. Lie and create a narrative to keep viewers. This in turn means the others need to follow suit to keep the ratings up.
 
Don CT said:
You could argue that the media created this mess going after ratings.
Click to expand...

That's what you get with an ad-supported media model. People don't want to pay for news. They want it for free. They get what they pay for.

What is the source of ratings? People watching. So the real problem isn't the media going after ratings. They're just doing their job. The real problem is that people watch. They don't have to watch. There are lots of choices if you're willing to pay. Most people aren't willing to pay. So the viewers watch the stations, the stations make money, and the stations keep doing what they do because it gets people to watch. Want to stop the cycle? Don't watch. Open the window and throw away your TV. That's the way to solve the problem.
 
TheBigA said:
That's what you get with an ad-supported media model. People don't want to pay for news. They want it for free. They get what they pay for.

What is the source of ratings? People watching. So the real problem isn't the media going after ratings. They're just doing their job. The real problem is that people watch. They don't have to watch. There are lots of choices if you're willing to pay. Most people aren't willing to pay. So the viewers watch the stations, the stations make money, and the stations keep doing what they do because it gets people to watch. Want to stop the cycle? Don't watch. Open the window and throw away your TV. That's the way to solve the problem.
Click to expand...
The news has become entertainment. This is why every lead story is a murder or a fire or a car accident.
 
You want stations to turn down political ads? If they turn down one, Theyd have to turn them all down.. they cant play favorites.. and must offer politicians the lowest rate card rate in .. is it .. federal... elections?
 
SomeRadioGuy said:
You want stations to turn down political ads? If they turn down one, Theyd have to turn them all down.. they cant play favorites.. and must offer politicians the lowest rate card rate in .. is it .. federal... elections?
Click to expand...
Political ads should be free PSAs. That would make them cheaper and not cost millions.
 
Don CT said:
Political ads should be free PSAs. That would make them cheaper and not cost millions.
Click to expand...

Not a chance in hell... and you folks claim radio is decimated now, this will further kill revenue. Political revenue for some stations is huge.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom