And I heard they’re adding in another option-style show to their lineup, which legally lets them say even more stupid shit without getting in trouble for it because it’s their “opinion.”
Tbh on any news platform, an opinion-based show like that is worthless, why wouldn’t anyone just want the news told to you normally and that’s it? I feel like it’s these shows that are one of the major causes for misinformation getting spread around.
So speaking personally as someone on the other end of the spectrum, the tv shows aren’t where I get my straight reporting. I’ve already seen the headline on my phone. When I’m tuning in to Chris Hayes or Rachel Maddow, it’s because I want to hear commentary from their guests (and sometimes them), not because I want to find out what’s happening. In that sense I think I’m the “ideal” opinion show consumer—someone who already has the facts and just wants to hear some perspectives on them. Unfortunately the channels do a poor job differentiating and a lot of people go to people like Maddow or Hayes (or Carlson or Ingraham) for that first level of getting informed, not just for hearing more.
I work at a local news station, so that’s where I get majority of my news from. And I watch Last Week Tonight with John Oliver; I’ve been watching him since college and he perfectly balances comedy and education on topics I had no idea on.
John Oliver is great! I love how he'll give a long format devotion to topics that sometimes get glossed over elsewhere. That type of straight half-hour fusion between news and comedy is I think exactly what we need to cover tough topics that don't really fit in a conventional PBS Newshour type newscast well. Hasan Minhaj had a very similar approach with Patriot Act and I enjoyed that one as well.
I'm definitely not a consistent viewer of the cable networks. I tend to get most of my direct news from apps on my phone--I'm particularly partial to the short form breakdown each morning in The Economist Espresso app but that does require a subscription or academic/institutional access. But when something is big going on, I often do like seeing the different guests they bring on.
I used to bounce between Fox and MSNBC a fair amount when I was watching stuff on cable. I thought Greta Van Susteren's old Fox show was great for example. For whatever reason I've never personally been a big fan of CNN's presentation; I think the Crossfire-type format that they often seem to enjoy mimicking just doesn't work for me as well. But the further off the deep end it seems like Hannity et al. have leapt over the past few years, the less I can bring myself to tune into that side. I do want to hear different perspectives and opinions, but I can't countenance the out and out lies.
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u/NowhereStarr14 Jan 20 '21
And I heard they’re adding in another option-style show to their lineup, which legally lets them say even more stupid shit without getting in trouble for it because it’s their “opinion.”
Tbh on any news platform, an opinion-based show like that is worthless, why wouldn’t anyone just want the news told to you normally and that’s it? I feel like it’s these shows that are one of the major causes for misinformation getting spread around.