I admit that I am not one to closely follow the news because 'news' here in New Zealand is different from that in America. I mean, an island country the size of Nebraska that bans guns doesn't cultivate much sensationalism. I hear the 'headlines' during the day from the tv and am satisfied with that.
Some times, when we hear the 'headlines' of news coming up, Hubby and I just look at each other and say, 'Slow news day.' It reminds me of the story of April 18, 1930, in England where it was announced, 'There is no news today.' and piano music followed.
For the last few weeks, the biggest news was that Australia was sending back New Zealanders who have ever committed a crime. To me, this is news, but, as is sadly true for most reports here, there was no real follow up or any definitive conclusions. I would have expected irate citizens and politicians ranting but none were reported that I saw. Maybe I missed it.
With international news like the awful attack on Paris, we got the expected blips of information in 10 or 15 second updates and then a full report during the news broadcast. I thought we were well informed and Kiwi travelers were all accounted for, which is a good conclusion for our little country.
BUT...
...when a rugby player dies after losing a battle to cancer, programs were pre-empted, channel programming was disrupted and every bit of 'news' was taken up with the story and everybody's reaction from the coach to politicians to fans on the street. Days of headlines are about him. Maybe the fact that I'm not sports-minded gives me a different perspective, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who lives here but doesn't follow sports.
I just don't 'get it'. As far as I'm concerned, anything that interrupts Dr Phil should be more along the lines of world devastation or alien invasion.
16 comments:
Well this made me smile ... I kind of hate sports, but I'm so tired of the news right now that I might trade for what you have.
I find news programs and bulletins to be mostly disgusting. They are often half truths and innuendos intended to gather viewers/listeners - not to report an actual happening. And celebrity news is in the who-gives-a-damn category. Is it really news if an actress has morning sickness? Does anyone care if an actor bought a new car and it got a scrape on it while he dined in style at a meal that could pay for food for a small nation for a week? And are we really that dedicated to a sports figure that we will spend hours/days watching rehashing of every mundane thing that ever happened in their life? Do we care if the celebrity changed their hair style 4 times in 1992?
Reading this I was thinking of the time we were in New Zealand a long time ago. Some evenings we watched the news on tv. My husband and I exchanged glances and said news? Here we are bombarded with news. In a way we were relieved with minimal news, New Zealand must be a peaceful place to live.
I hear you, Bettyl. And give thanks. I was in Greece when the bodies of dead refugee children were washing up on the beach. I'd much rather have our dull news. I do like sports but agree the recent outpourings about the passing of a footballer has been overkill.
Ha ha you made me laugh. I agree with you. Our news is not much better. Its all doom and gloom and as JoAn says you can't believe half of it. As for sports news, I like sport but I am fed up with hearing all about rugby and all the players problems, who cares if they have a groin strain and they show you him in his undies. We rarely hear about women's sport or Football (soccer) which happens to be my favourite.
LOL - I couldn't agree more. I don't watch the news here either, not without the remote to skip the trivia and sports. We can generally get through it in about 5 minutes.
That is crazy! I think that is funny that you guys get doctor Phil in New Zealand!
lol at the above comment, yes we get dr phil in NZ, funny yes we do have televisions and internet etc. Gotta agree with you on the news though Betty, the media tends to sensationlize things in a weird wrong sort of way.
I definitely understand this - usually for programmes to be interrupted I'd expect something on a catastrophic scale, like an alien invasion or earth threatening event. Recently here, there has been a lot of coverage relating to the Paris attacks but nothing has been interrupted or postponed, as the news channels over here are used for that main reason, which I think is good as sometimes seeing the news for even a few minutes makes me sad. I try to steer clear of it unless something major happens now. Really interesting post Betty! - Tasha
Well, news in the states seems to follow themes. If a story is outside what is "popular" it may get little coverage. I suspect that the staffers who are determining what is "popular" are influenced by folks selling commercials. You would be dismayed by the coverage that is given to Donald Trump, not because he is a viable candidate but because he is a TV personality who has a proven record of getting viewers. If Kim Kardashian were running for office, she would get more news coverage that Hillary Clinton and Carly Fiorina combined!
I am totally with you on this one. I don't understand how sport has it's own section on the news let alone how much air time it takes up when something happens in the sports world. Let's not worry about the fact that there's some crazy international goings on that could blow up into war or perhaps effect economies all over the planet, that's nothing compared to a 'sporting hero' getting caught in a compromising position, pulling a tendon or sadly loses the battle against cancer -a battle which is lost by John Doe every day. I don't mean to make light of someone dying, I'm just astounded at the viewpoint that it's BIG news, can't we at least allow the family to grieve in peace?
lol yeh rugby is a religion here. We always have to laugh about the news and indeed we don't get a lot through in this country. We always watch the news on Aljazeera on TV to get some more background information.
So agree! And what's really funny is that I never heard about a rugby player's death in the U.S.A. because no one cares about that sport here! But if he were an American football player, it would have been the same.
I'm so glad you commented on my blog so I could find yours here. I have enjoyed reading your thoughts, chuckled over your humor, and soooo agree with you about what news stations think is news.
I wish that would be repeated again one of these days...... 'There is no news today.' and piano music would follow.
what you write about Jonah Lomu's death is explained by the fact that rugby in NZ is not only a sport but a game eleveted to the rank of religion. But a religion that makes fewer deaths than those who honor gods whose existence remains to prove. People here are educated by rugby. they learn to live, to know and understand each others with rugby which is a high styled practice. This discipline is taught from firt school, and its rules are based on the respect for the other. These sportsmen are for most of them examples for the rest of population.
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