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I actually started thinking about doing a ‘no news’ challenge a couple of weeks ago after hearing a radio interview about the international hysteria surrounding the potential spread of the Ebola virus. The interviewee suggested that, in general, people respond too quickly to news without all the facts. After all, it is the primary job of news media to produce and disseminate new information, not to provide insight or perspective. That is the job of editorial and opinion pieces within the media, which doesn’t appear to satiate the appetite of general public quite as much.
When we fail to balance news with editorial insights, our views can become too easily skewed and shaped by the immediacy of social media and the wave of (often unbalanced) public opinion. I found myself caught up in this wave recently after reading Jian Gomeshi’s well-crafted Facebook post about losing his job at the CBC. Then, as more details emerged, I realized that there was a larger story to be told that would emerge over time. I’d like to consider myself media savvy, but it turns out that I still make quick judgments when reading a salacious story.
I used to tease my husband about the pile of old Economist magazines and newspapers that he likes to read in chronological order. Because we lead busy lives with so little free times, he is often months behind in his reading, but refuses to skip ahead to read current newspapers (with the exception of the business section). Unlike me, who will jump ahead to the last chapter of a book, he likes to see stories unfold more naturally.
I sometimes jokingly threaten to drop spoilers and tell him a current news story, but I think this week I will take a chapter from his book. No news through newspapers (unless it’s an opinion piece), radio, TV or social media.
Maybe the world will look a bit different? I certainly hope so.
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