Those anti-TV folks.....

[mleach]

Today during my lunch break at work I was reading about the nasty divorce between Madonna and Guy Ritchie. of course the article went on about Madonna's so-called household rules including NO TV, No radio, no newspapers, no internet..and so forth. Ok..have you ever met anyone who hated TV ( and radio ) so much not only do they refuse to own one but even won't allow anyone employed in the biz to enter their own home?

Don't know exactly how much true this is but for years I have heard the story about how Dan Ingram and The Real Don Steele despite making a nice living thanks to radio, both guys actually hated radio. Not only NOT allowing their own kids to listen to the radio ( not even to their own shows ) but neither guy had a radio in their own cars. Very odd !

Myself, I knew a few folks over the years who shared the same opinions about TV & radio much like Madonna's but still among the average folks ( unlike Madonna of course ) how is it really possible to keep TV & radio away from kids? Where I used to live my next door neighbors were very anti-TV & radio. So much so they refused to allow me since at the time I worked in radio, to enter their home as they once told me "..nothing personal but you work in a business that we feel is highly immoral". Ok..thats their choice but as far as I know I was the only person in the whole neighborhood they would not allow me inside their home. Anybody else had a similar experience?

 

[stationi]

I heard a tale, not sure if it is true, about someone who was a board member on a Northern California PBS station who didn't own a television. Shouldn't they have a board that exist of people who actually watch their channel?

 

[jal41]

Today during my lunch break at work I was reading about the nasty divorce between Madonna and Guy Ritchie. of course the article went on about Madonna's so-called household rules including NO TV, No radio, no newspapers, no internet..and so forth. Ok..have you ever met anyone who hated TV ( and radio ) so much not only do they refuse to own one but even won't allow anyone employed in the biz to enter their own home?

I had a professor who didn't own a TV. They were never home...so they thought it was a waste of money. They had nothing against TV.
When she or her husband wanted to watch a sporting event, they went to a bar.

I have heard of these religious groups, like the polygamist FLDS sect run by that now convicted felon who banished all outside media. As a result, when those kids were removed from the sect by Texas authorities, they could not cope with the mainstream world. Madonna is setting up her kids to be like those in that sect.

There are many ultra-conservative folks that do not want the "mainstream" media in their homes. Many celebrities, like Toni Braxton and Katy Perry grew up in these environments (Katy Perry later went on to record a #1 song in 2008 called "I Kissed A Girl", about girls kissing girls - she is dating a boy though).

 

[landtuna]

I sometimes wonder if all the weird stuff we hear about celebrities is just fluff to make headlines. Although Madonna does, at times, seem to have a screw or two loose.

And maybe Dan Ingram and The Real Don Steele just couldn't stand to listen to anyone but themselves? Hey, I know people like that. :

 

[notalkallstatic]

There are many ultra-conservative folks that do not want the "mainstream" media in their homes.

My best friend's family, when I was kid, was that way. They were extra-ultra-extreme-conservative, and they didn't want any kind of media in their house. When I would ask him what he would do for fun, it was always, "Read the Bible."

I never believed him, until the day I went over to his house, he was not lying. No TV, no newspaper, no radio, no magazines, no computers, just religious books and bibles.

To this day, I have no idea how he turned out. We lost contact when I was about 8.

 

[kenglish]

"To this day, I have no idea how he turned out. We lost contact when I was about 8."

Your answer may be in jal41's post, above:
"I have heard of these religious groups, like the polygamist FLDS sect run by that now convicted felon who banished all outside media."

 

[mleach]

I sometimes wonder if all the weird stuff we hear about celebrities is just fluff to make headlines. Although Madonna does, at times, seem to have a screw or two loose.

I am sure a LOT of the stuff we hear about the "stars" are indeed fluff but in the case with Madonna, I am pretty sure its all true. After all Madonna has fired many of her personal staff such as housekeepers over they years and some of them have gone public about..well the private life of Madonna. I think last year she fired her chef and he went public about the foods/drinks Madonna wont allow her kids to have. No milk or any dairy products, no meat, no soft drinks ( soda, energy drinks, Gatoraide or Kool-Aid ), no canned foods, no seafood, no candy, no cakes or pies, pretty much no sugar, no to most fruits, no pasta...I guess that leaves the kids with just bread and water. One interesting thing this chef brought up was the fact that Madonna will only allow to kids to listen to classical music and nothing else..she will not even allow her kids to listen to her own music.

Imagine what Madonna's kids will be like say 10 years from now when they fianlly get to see mama in all of those videos she had done over the years, those bad movies like "Who's That Girl", not too mention that book "Sex". Actually its not too hard to feel sorry for those kids.

 

[philosofy]

I know a guy at work that dropped his directv subscription and claims to watch or download everything online. Does that count? I admit I have thought about doing that but I don't think my wife would ever let us go that route. But there are certainly better ways that my $65 to Time Warner could be spent each month.

 

[Markxxx]

I just bought a new TV last Friday and I had gone three weeks without TV, and I didn't miss it. The only reason I got one was it's getting colder and I'm spending more time inside, and I want to see "The Simpsons."

I read, listen to radio, books on tape. I lived for a couple of years in Florida and didn't have a TV. It's really not a big deal, you'd be surprised how fast you can get used to not having one.

The only thing I really miss, is I generally keep it on as background noise, and for some reason when my windows open, if I have a rerun of a sitcom on I can tune that out and work on the computer. But if without the TV background noise, I can hear my neighbors (when the windows open) and for some reason I don't tune that out.

But the radio works as well.

 

[Ultimajock]

And maybe Dan Ingram and The Real Don Steele just couldn't stand to listen to anyone but themselves? Hey, I know people like that. :

...Larry Lujack, in his book Superjock, describes coming home while his wife is listening to some Carole King or Carly Simon album, and he walks from the door straight over to the stereo to turn the thing off, complaining that he hears too much of that stuff at work to be able to tolerate it at home. Perhaps that's what was at work in Steele and Ingram's attitudes...

...of course, there's the opposite extreme depicted in the movie Simon in which Alan Arkin and Judy Graubart come across a religious sect that worships "The Sacred Box" ("We do not speak its name"); their scripture readings are TV Guide listings...

 

[landtuna]

I just bought a new TV last Friday and I had gone three weeks without TV, and I didn't miss it.

So many people complain about the medium as if the electronics are at fault for poor programming. A television is a tool, just like the phone, computer and radio and can be either beneficial or not so much depending on how you use it.

I use it to watch sports and three network programs per week. That's it. Any other viewing is on Discovery, Military or History where I can become educated about topics not broadcast over traditional network or local stations. My kids do pretty much the same and it is very interesting to me that, once introduced to something besides The Simpsons or "24", they actually will sit and watch something to do with science, history or business and ask all sorts of questions. It has led to some very interesting dinner table discussions.

 

[notalkallstatic]

This name might not sound fimilar to you: Newton Minow

Who is Newton Minow? The FCC Chairman who made the famous statement:

When television is good, nothing—not the theater, not the magazines or newspapers—nothing is better.
But when television is bad, nothing is worse. I invite you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there without a book, magazine, newspaper, profit and loss sheet or rating book to distract you—and keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that you will observe a vast wasteland.

At that time, he wasn't big on the current status of television.

 

[landtuna]

And I wonder what good old Newton would say about the current state of TV (yes, he is still alive).

He was certainly entitled to his opinion but one has to wonder about his rationale. After all, in the early 1960's, when he made his famous statement, TV still had a huge amount of traditional entertainment (known then as variety shows hosted by then kings of radio and stage) and top quality drama's (programs like Hallmark Hall of Fame and Playhouse 90). All of these are missing today. Even the 'fluff' shows of the day (Route 66, Surfside 6, etc.) were as good, if not better, than the formulaic junk we have today. And most of the comedies of way back then are still funny today (and some, including Lucy and Gilligan's Island remain in circulation).

The following from Wikipedia:

"While some applauded his "vast wasteland" assault on commercial television as a welcome criticism of excessive violence and frivolity, others criticized it as an elitist, snobbish attack on programming that many viewers enjoyed and as government interference with private enterprise. The S. S. Minnow of the 1964–1967 television show "Gilligan's Island" was sarcastically named for him to express displeasure with his assessment of the quality of television."

Me? I really have to wonder about anyone whose parents would name him "Newton Minnow".

 

[johnnyu]

Back in the late 1960's when my oldest child was starting school, I threw out the television. We went without one for about ten years. If I threw out the current one, I sure wouldn't miss it. I am dumbfounded that people spend all that money for these HD tv's with nothing to watch but garbage.

 

[mleach]

This name might not sound fimilar to you: Newton Minow

Who is Newton Minow? The FCC Chairman who made the famous statement:

When television is good, nothing—not the theater, not the magazines or newspapers—nothing is better.
But when television is bad, nothing is worse. I invite you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there without a book, magazine, newspaper, profit and loss sheet or rating book to distract you—and keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that you will observe a vast wasteland.

At that time, he wasn't big on the current status of television.

Minow also wasn't a big fan of the then-current state of radio either. While he liked such stations like NYC's WOR-AM with its news and talk shows for example, he did NOT like the music stations at the time like NYC's WABC or WMCA. He felt they were nothing more than "jukeboxes".