[Closed] Anyone else slowly giving up on the news?

Have a read of this instead

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Notes-Nervous-Planet-Matt-Haig/dp/1786892677

I understand what you mean. The problem is that, if you do stop exposing yourself to news and current events, you insulate yourself away from the things that you should be challenging. That won't help you, it will just make you feel even less engaged with things.

News is mainly bad things happening in the world, because that is what is deemed significant. You just have to look past that and try and assess it all impartially.

you insulate yourself away from the things that you should be challenging

Tell me how I challenge, with any likelihood of making a significant impact, the inevitabilities of catastrophic climate change, Brexit or a Tory government and I'm all ears.

I agree. It all seems a waste of time especially the election as I have a postal vote so voted this morning

I watch the news at 6pm every night on bbc1. not for the news content, just to see the lovely Sophie Rayworth. she gives me a nice warm feeling.

I like reading the news, read the Guardian, Independent, Economist, FT, Sunday Times every day / week. But for some reason, can't stand listening to it on the Radio and we don't have a TV. Means I have no idea what any politician sounds like but I know all their policies.

I also find developing an emotional disengagement to Politics is a good way to be. A know people in Labour / Momentum, who will probably be at risk of suicide if the Tories get a big majority as for them this elections means everything, the ultimate battle of good verses evil etc.

Sadly, when you lose interest in politics it doesn't mean politics loses interest in you and when 'normal' people walk away all it does is leave the way clear for the headbangers.

Hang on in there, I suspect a whole swath of the country feels likewise and there may be some surprises come the 12th.

Getting involved in campaigning again in the last few years has actually done me quite a bit of good, I'm fully aware that I can't change the world on my own but I've met a lot of really decent people all pulling in the same direction and realised I'm not just on my own screaming into the void.

I’m fed up to the back teeth of all the lies (from the tories) promises of spending more than the Royal Mint have ever even produced (labour) & just general shite from all the others.
The best news i could hear would be that theyv’e all been sacked & wev’e got new MP’s from another planet whov’e travelled a few light years to sort the place out. Cos as far as i can see, wer’e ****ed.

I feel very much like you IHN. Some good advice above but can't help feeling we're all ultimately ****ed. Makes me depressed/worried for my kids more than anything.

I gave up on TV news years ago and never listen to radio news.

I do read the guardian every day tho and check other papers for particular stories

The problem is that, if you do stop exposing yourself to news and current events, you insulate yourself away from the things that you should be challenging.

True but the quality of journalism particularly on R4 seems to be taking a dive. It tends to be confrontational for the sake of it (or at least with little hope of adding to the story) and the journalists seem completely incapable of understanding or challenging statistics particularly when they are presented with a cause that the public and the journalist will instinctively side with.

It's getting so bad that an interviewer the other morning almost succeeded in making Michael Gove, in full condescending arrogant mode, seem reasonable.

Amongst the guys I work with only a handful seem to be up to date with current affairs, and I fear that is why we are heading for the abyss of another Tory government on the 12th.

True but the quality of journalism particularly on R4 seems to be taking a dive. It tends to be confrontational for the sake of it

Agreed, I don't know why anyone bothers going on it, Boris etc have shown there is no need to be interviewed. Not R4, but after JC's mauling with Andrew Neil, Bojo won't make the same mistake of taking part as he has far more to lose from participating than he could ever gain. Daft state of affairs.

The BBC (radio) news is ****ing appalling & I don't watch the news on TV. I'll read the Grauniad, Indie and occasionally the odd Torygraph article. And this-

Tell me how I challenge, with any likelihood of making a significant impact, the inevitabilities of catastrophic climate change, Brexit or a Tory government and I’m all ears.

Revolution? I'm with you if you fancy it.

I've switched off from the election stuff. My vote is based purely on doing what gives the best chance of a non-Tory mp in my constituency. As far as I'm concerned letting Boris take us out of the EU will do more damage to this country than anything any other party could do in a single parliamentary term.

Sadly, when you lose interest in politics it doesn’t mean politics loses interest in you and when ‘normal’ people walk away all it does is leave the way clear for the headbangers.

I'm not advocating disengagement from politics, I will absolutely vote and think everyone should. I do know though that my vote will not stop a Tory MP being elected in my constituency, he currently has a majority of 25,499, with 60.6% of the vote last time.

screaming into the void

I think I'm advocating accepting that the void is there and you can't fill it, rather than screaming into it.

Similarly blessed with a Tory majority of 28,000, my vote won't count for much. I gave up buying the Guardian when it moved to the right post-Rusbridger but I find the comments in response to newspaper articles on FB often illuminating and amusing, providing a nice balance. I only see the telly in pubs and hotels and am constantly reassured I'm not missing much. I'm interested in current affairs but when exposed to the media I'm mostly looking for their selection/angle/take/technique in putting over a particular view.

I stopped watching the BBC News after the referendum.. Glad I did really because if i exposed myself to the raging morons I too would become one, and I'm better than that.

What I dislike is the constant exposure to it all. There is no need to listen every half/hour to the BBC saying the same old garbage about lyingbohard and his enormous ego.

The news should be once every 4hours starting at 0600 on the radio and once at 10pm on the tv.

I’m pretty sure BoJo will be PM, as effing appalling a prospect that is.

That isn't a certainty is it.

Vote against the lying idiot and he won't be PM.

You have to understand how insignificant you are. In a country of 65 million you are effectively nobody. You're the active ingredient in homeopathy.

A person can never really comprehend that. Like interstellar distance. Our brains are just not wired up that way.

But trying to understand it helps.
Pick smaller battles - reducing the pool of others increases your significance and agency. Make an improvement in your local area. Or your garden.

Also, having a ****ton more sex than you currently are really helps with existential despair.

I have spoken.

Gave up some months ago. Changed my facebook pssword to a random one so I can't go there either. Feel much better for it.

That isn’t a certainty is it.

I'm going to say yes, it is. I'll happily take a gentleman's wager on it.

Vote against the lying idiot and he won’t be PM.

Sadly we don't vote for the PM, we vote for our MP, and my MP will be a Tory regardless of how I vote.

You have to understand how insignificant you are. In a country of 65 million you are effectively nobody. You’re the active ingredient in homeopathy.
A person can never really comprehend that.

I think what I'm saying is that this is the comprehension that I am now discovering.

I'm with you on this, spent a few years in the late 90's with no telly and found that not knowing about stuff doesn't really make much actual difference to one's life but one person can still make an impact on issues and can be a catalyst for change so don't give up on trying.
Anyone recommend a better news outlet than R4 - as above needlessly confrontational interviewing does my head in.

This is a worrying trend. "The news isn't reporting news I like", so people either switch off or gravitate to news sources that are exclusively skewed to the opinions they want to hear.

Soak it all up, from every angle.

Keeps me informed (or manipulated) and entertained.

This is a worrying trend. “The news isn’t reporting news I like”, so people either switch off or gravitate to news sources that are exclusively skewed to the opinions they want to hear.

Or the news is just becoming short attention span based sensationalist drivel and ignores the complexity of the underlying issues, so I don't bother listening to it.

The First Past the Post System really doesn't help as in many seats, it's a foregone conclusion who will win / lose. Proportional representation would mean everyone has an influence and might get people more engaged.

In short yes.

I've removed most of my News apps from my devices, But my Twitter feed is still a endless stream of Brexit and Election news, half truths and outright fabrications from every faction.

I've decided that whilst it's important to be an informed voter, that after I vote I'm giving up caring about politics, there's good and there's bad people involved, but on balance it's a toxic business.

I'd join in a revolution if someone wants to start one, but this democracy lark is past its sell-by date. The morons have voted for chlorinated chicken, and they will soon vote for continued austerity and NHS waiting lists. So let them have their democracy good and hard - I'm lucky enough that I can bear the consequences, so I'm done with it.

You have to understand how insignificant you are. In a country of 65 million you are effectively nobody

Balderbash and piffle. Excuse my french

I think my interest in the news waned not with all this fake news but when they stopped putting a human interest story at the end (bunny rabbit found on the motorway found safe and well type of thing). I say brig this back and people wont get so miserable about the news.

At the end of the day, we are all living through a period of huge upheaval in this country that is massively changing things. The implications of this chaos are huge and will last generations. Yo

I get frustrated and depressed in equal measure by Brexit and where we are, but still find the twists and turns of it absolutely fascinating... in a slow-motion car crash sort of way, so consume loads of news.

I get my 'proper' news from the Guardian and Channel 4 news, but I bought the Times yesterday just to compare their analysis on a 'know your enemy' basis. I also follow the Twitter accounts of Corbynite far left headbangers and far right wing Brexiteer fruitloops to get that angle too

The problem i think is that there is no longer any difference between politics and business.

Our politicains can all seemingly lie us much as they like, and seem to all have some sort of finger in the pie so to speak, so i just can't believe a single thing they say, due to a confilict of interests that seems to be tollerated by the "system" these days.....

This is a worrying trend. “The news isn’t reporting news I like”, so people either switch off or gravitate to news sources that are exclusively skewed to the opinions they want to hear.

I agree, however...

Soak it all up, from every angle.

...what does that acheive?

The problem i think is that there is no longer any difference between politics and business.

This. The idea that quality of life should come at the expense of the planet and other people is just wrong. I've said it before in similar threads, capitalism needs to be break (or be broken) in order to move on. The news agencies' obsession with the economy is (part of) the issue. It doesn't matter, it really doesn't ****ing matter when you end up with people dying because of it (austerity). Crash it and move on.

At the end of the day, we are all living through a period of huge upheaval in this country that is massively changing things. The implications of this chaos are huge and will last generations. Yo

I torn between that, or it's just a perfect storm of small issues that are causing a great big one.

Really, it should be the end of the 2 party system, but FPTP maintains the status quo and I'm not sure if, say, the LD over-took Labour and became one of the 'big two' again they'd be as happy to tear it all up.

I listen to the radio while wrecking the environment by driving to and from work and I have also given up on politics so I toggle between R4 and R3; switching over to R3 as soon as politics comes on R4. The problem with that is that PM on R4 is not always politics; it often has interesting stuff on and I enjoy that and don't want to miss it.

My knowledge and understanding of music has definitely improved though thanks to Brexit; Radio 3 is excellent in the evenings as they feature studio guests, some of whom are quite jazzy or folky and always interesting when they talk about their music.

Not "slowly giving up", have given up. BBC Brexit TV in the mornings particularly. Reporting absolutely NOTHING for days and days until I just switched to BBC2 after the weather every morning.
Last week was Dom Does the USA and it was quite entertaining. Replaced by a cheesy murder investigation thing, so I just watch something off my Sky box. Danny's House this morning, quite a laugh.

Vote against the lying idiot and he won’t be PM.

Sadly we don’t vote for the PM, we vote for our MP, and my MP will be a Tory regardless of how I vote.

Doesn't have to be, if you don't vote for him/it/them.

I turned off my radio to stop getting angry / depressed at the news. I found myself shouting at the radio and getting to work already pissed off.

Once I did that I listened to either nothing, or some interesting podcasts, life did get a little better.

I dont do social media (except STW), I do read the Guardian website for news, but only the articals that interst me, so avoid the pointless politics etc.

I live in a Tory majority, so my vote is also a complete waste.

Well you are lucky to have a vote. I pay tax in the UK but don't have a vote as lived abroad for over 15 years, so don't qualify for one. I also don't have a vote in my country of residence, so feel a bit left out.

're news, I like c4 but take it all with a pinch of salt.

my vote will not stop a Tory MP being elected in my constituency, he currently has a majority of 25,499, with 60.6% of the vote last time.

I woudn't count on it, whilst the polls disagree on what's likely to happen one thing that's clear is that this is the most volatile and unpredictable election in a generation, plenty of formerly 'safe' seats suddenly looking very risky for both the Tories and Labour.

A few thousand votes in a handful of seats could well make all the difference on the 12th and I think there will be some real 'Portillo moments' with smug types who thought they were safe getting turfed out.

Go vote people.

It's weird actually, I used to consider myself "Better Informed" news and politics wise than my missus, We've pretty much switched roles. I'd probably listen to a good hour or so of R4: Today/PM/news bulletins plus read a bit online, and watch more news on the telly I did watch QT pretty regularly too...
'er indoors would skim a tabloid or watch the leaders on news at 10 then switch over to some Reality sing-song/Dancing bollox, never any other politics or news related content for her.

But now I just can't be arsed with it all, I'll listen to the radio on the way home, and then I'm done, as I've heard the main content of what's going to be on the telly and any other outlet later and it's all too depressing, I can see the patterns and have almost stopped caring.

My wife OTOH will now stay up till gone 11:00 watching the news and QT and getting into an angry froth over it all, like it's a new thing...

I think what's happened is that people who were not typically very engaged have suddenly picked up news media and topical stuff, those of us who "liked it before it was cool" are actually becoming disenfranchised and apathetic...

The one thing that's irked me most lately is the Sky news "these Benches" advert which closes with them referring to "The Brexit Election" Which says it all to me.
Our next five years of government will be decided, it seems, on the basis of one narrow (Tory driven) topic that's already derailed almost four years of our democratic process...

CFH - I get my news from a multiplicity of sources of different biases. I just can no longer stomach tv news. This way I chose which stories I am interested in and do not have to see the smug lying barstewards getting airtime. I can read what they have said which is much less infuriating

I think there will be some real ‘Portillo moments’ with smug types who thought they were safe getting turfed out.

There's absolutely no way that this election compares with 1997; the Tories were routed then by an efficient, effective Labour Party with a charismatic leader. Find ay of those three qualities in the current Labour Party.

I'll bet a shiny tenner that Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown is the MP for the Cotswolds come the 13th December.

The current shit storm is actually making me more engaged - I'm realising that if I don't make my opinions and views felt and participate, I'll die knowing I made no effort, and that's a bit crap really.

I don't think much of BBC News (even less of BBC Breakfast) and tend to find myself watching France 24 on Freesat.

Can't understand all this talk of BBC Bias...

I'm generally not home when the news is on the TV so never see it, when I do watch TV is recorded programs or catch up. I used to listen to live radio, but got bored of it so listen to podcasts on the way to work.

I generally keep up to date with current affairs by this forum or twitter trending!

There’s absolutely no way that this election compares with 1997; the Tories were routed then by an efficient, effective Labour Party with a charismatic leader. Find ay of those three qualities in the current Labour Party.

"efficient, effective" two words you could never use these days!

I live (and vote) in a safe blue seat.
But I work in (and log in to Facebook within) the neighbouring constituency 7 miles away, which with the current Brexit volatility could conceivably go one of three ways.

Couple that with being a healthy straight white male under 50 with above average education (privilege jackpot, I know) and I am the very definition of swing voter.

the amount of paid promotion / adverts I get is quite ridiculous, contradicting each other within a few inches of phone screen, and contradicting themselves from the previous week.

I don’t read or watch any news. I live in my own ignorant little bubble and I’m very happy.
I can’t stand politics and generally close a thread down on here if it turns political. I read some threads on here and genuinely feel sorry for some folk who can’t reply to any subject without mentioning politics. It’s served me well so far in life.

I have pretty much given up on TV news, rely on twitter to an extent, plus read guardian online, and also browse le Figaro, le monde, independent.ie, and a few others, first two help my French and by using non uk outlets just raises awareness of a wider world.

Revolution? I’m with you if you fancy it.

I'm in!

I've always been interested in politics, and have always read newspapers (of various viewpoints) and watch loads of news and QT. Frankly, these last few years, I couldn't give a flying one now!

All my voting life (since 1977) I've lived in a succession of 'safe seats' of various colours and have come to realise that my vote actually means sweet fa. It'll be another spoilt paper from me, until we get proportional representation or a revolution I have no voice that any of the self serving deluded morons in Westminster will listen to.

I give up!

I was following the election, but as the days have gone on and the dafter its got the less I want to hear. The lies, games and childishness of it all just proves to me that none of them give a shit about us in any way, they only want to make their own worlds better at the cost of everyone else.

The tories threatening Channel 4 with a review of their licence because their leader couldn't be bothered to turn up to a debate on the climate might be the last straw

Burn it all down

The problem I have with news has nothing to do with politics, it's that it's simply not trustworthy - and I don't mean from bias. Over the years, I've seen a few stories/articles where I knew quite a bit about the situation - enough to know that the report was simply inaccurate. A couple of instances are, perhaps, forgivable but when it's happened a few times you have to doubt the veracity of the stuff you don't know much about too.

I vote for the best candidate/person regardless of “party”. You need the “best person for the job”. If you have an MP who has assisted in a positive way anything you, family or friends have asked of that person does it really matter what “party” they belong to?
Neither of my kids(mid/late 30s) Follow the news, buy papers etc and probably have no idea there is an election going on or have any interest🤷‍♂️ Like many others they see it as all about what’s happening in London, ie the “news” is all about London as I am watching atm!!
If you live in no mans land ie Southbof Glasgow/Edinburgh and Northbof Manchester there is a disconnection IMO.
Question for the engineering thinkers.
If and when the gas is turned off what are all the industries who rely on it expected to do? I’m thinking glass, steel, whisky and plastic industries.
The planting of trees. Will the current rate of felling impact on the mystical plans of all parties?🤷‍♂️

Read better news

I scan the headlines on the BBC news app in the morning, just to see if anything monumental has happened - but that's it these days.

I've previously been an avid follower of politics and the news, but (like many, it sounds like) I've come to the conclusion that all "being informed" achieves is to make me utterly miserable about our current situation: Brexit/Trump/the middle east/the environment - the whole lot.

I subscribe to YourGuitarHero's approach - and am focusing my energies on things to can influence, instead of fretting about things I can't.

Completely selfish I know, but the only measurable difference in outcome of this approach is that I am happier.

IIRC, I gave up on the BBC for news back in the noughties when Bliar and his government took the beeb to task for telling some sort of truth, I can’t recall exactly the topic, suffice to say it then dawned on me that the news machine irrespective of which outlet, was a propaganda machine. Since then, my attitude has been very much a ‘what will be will be’ approach which has resulted in me paying very little attention to the ‘news’ on any platform.

Having said that, I’ve been reading much in relation to this GE, as I feel this is possibly one of the most important GE’s in my lifetime, my first GE was 1983.

Like many of you, I live in a very safe Tory manor, I’ll still vote against the Tory candidate but I do feel like my vote makes sod all difference to the local and national outcome and as long as we remain with this sham of a democratic process of first past the post, ultimately an individuals vote makes little difference.

Unfortunately the reality in this country is personal greed and gain. The only way Labour has managed to secure power in the last 40 years was to effectively become red right of centre conservatives. People in this country don’t want to share, don’t want to make community more important than the individual and don’t want to lose any personal wealth, no matter how unreal it is.

I don’t think much of BBC News (even less of BBC Breakfast) and tend to find myself watching France 24 on Freesat

The on line articles and radio are pretty good, the t.v. has become over simplified and poor I agree. It feels at the level of news round by John craven. ITV news is like the daily mail on tv. The entire channel is to be honest.

I think a large amount of complaints I see about BBC articles are problems with people's comprehension. I sometimes read the comments and the complaints in them make me laugh as frequently people are complaining that the BBC said X when the article did not say X, or as in today the BBC was reporting on a conclusion of a report and people were blaming the BBC for the results of the report! People seem to lack the basic comprehension in reading and extracting information.

People in this country don’t want to share, don’t want to make community more important than the individual and don’t want to lose any personal wealth, no matter how unreal it is

I think labours problem is they follow a us and them attitude. "It's their fault", "they should pay" etc. They ar not saying we all need to pay more it's allot our problem, the rich will pay more but we all need to pay more. Responsibility is always put on someone else. Our FPTP system mean doesn't help but that's a different subject.

I vote for the best candidate/person regardless of “party”. You need the “best person for the job”. If you have an MP who has assisted in a positive way anything you, family or friends have asked of that person does it really matter what “party” they belong to?

This is another odd one imo. I get why you do this but it is a national election so the party member will largely do what the party whips for. Local issues should be voted for on local elections, national issues on national elections. This confusion of rolls of the election allows support to be claimed on national level because of a MP doing a good job on some local issue.

Daily news comes at you so fast and seems so stressful at the moment that I've found I need to tune it out day-to-day.

My compromise is to read a weekly - mostly The Economist.

This is another odd one imo. I get why you do this but it is a national election so the party member will largely do what the party whips for. Local issues should be voted for on local elections, national issues on national elections. This confusion of rolls of the election allows support to be claimed on national level because of a MP doing a good job on some local issue.

And the flipside being that people vote for their local councillors based on whether they prefer Corbyn or Johnson, not based on who would be best to organise the bin collections and road repairs.

+1 for the Economist.

Truthful reporting backed by evidence

The problem I have with news has nothing to do with politics, it’s that it’s simply not trustworthy – and I don’t mean from bias. Over the years, I’ve seen a few stories/articles where I knew quite a bit about the situation – enough to know that the report was simply inaccurate. A couple of instances are, perhaps, forgivable but when it’s happened a few times you have to doubt the veracity of the stuff you don’t know much about too.

Which is a dangerous place to be as you go looking for alternatives that are invariably far more biased and free of scrutiny than their mainstream counterparts (looking at the likes of The Ferret here).

What does my head in is the complete inability of politicians to answer a simple question with either a simple answer or just say they don't know. Instead they filibuster and talk utter pish and then smugly say they are answering the question when they are clearly talking about something else. Gove and Abbot are two that just get switched off as I know they will never say anything of substance.

Gove and Abbot are two that just get switched off as I know they will never say anything of substance.

I quite like listening to Gove being interviewd, not that I agree with pretty much anything he says, but he's clearly got some smarts and he's pretty quick-witted. Abbott though, she must have some smarts to have been in the game for as long as she has but it doesn't come across, she just sounds condescending and evasive.

I quite like listening to Gove being interviewd, not that I agree with pretty much anything he says, but he’s clearly got some smarts and he’s pretty quick-witted.

yeah I have a grudging respect for Gove - IIRC he grew up in a fairly working class, lefty household, went to a comp, did well and got himself to Oxford. So he arrived at his political beliefs of his own free will, and got to an elite uni on merit rather than daddy's money.

Fortunately, as soon as this grudging respect shows any signs of getting out of hand, he pops up and says something so ****ish I am cursing his bastard name from the rooftops once more

The Gove does have a rare skill in that he can sound almost credible until the very moment he just reverts to being Gove and then I want to slap his face with a stinky haddock. Repeatedly, until it's impossible to determine if he's a fish or a man. Then repeat for another hour... minimum.

I'll bet his adoptive parents are really angry; way, way beyond disappointed with him.

Gove's got that 'I’m the smartest kid in the school so you better listen to me’ attitude. Unfortunately its pretty effective in bringing out the worst in interviewers who either interrupt him or lose their tempers and say something stupid, so he can play the bias card. It’s exactly the same approach that Jeffery Archer used to use, although he managed to do it with a tad more charm than the smarm Gove uses.

At least he is willing to talk to voters our MP to be doesn’t seem to have come within 200 miles of her constituency to be, although she will still get a massive majority (I’m assuming she did at least came to an interview so perhaps she has met at least 10 of her constituents).

I quite like listening to Gove being interviewd, not that I agree with pretty much anything he says, but he’s clearly got some smarts and he’s pretty quick-witted.

Yeah, he's sharp, I rate him.

Abbott though, she must have some smarts to have been in the game for as long as she has but it doesn’t come across, she just sounds condescending and evasive.

She's Oxbridge too and was a pretty good commentator on This Week - I really enjoyed her input on that. I think the problem she has selling momentum is that she's not stupid so her brain is constantly working ahead thinking "nobody's gonna buy this" and it utterly ties her up. I'm the same myself presenting stuff I don't believe in. She didn't strike me as especially talented back in the Blair days but I don't recall that she was a total car crash either.

There was a Stephen Collins cartoon in the Guardian what seems like an eternity ago, in a more innocent, less batshit pre-Brexit age, which pretty much nailed Gove and his preening self-regard

am focusing my energies on
things to can influence, instead of fretting about things I can’t.

Completely selfish I know, but the only measurable difference in outcome of this approach is that I am happier.

Not so fast. Happy and positive people effect those around them. ‘Measurable’ as far as happiness is ‘measurable’

Have noticed a direct correlation. The more negative media I digest, the more toxic I become to both self and (by extension) all around. Once went off-grid for a good while. Transformative. I seemed to do more positive things for myself, for the environment and for others. And more often. Long time ago now, and can feel the limescale is building once again. Internet/info addiction.

#workingonit

I think the problem she has selling momentum is that she’s not stupid so her brain is constantly working ahead thinking “nobody’s gonna buy this” and it utterly ties her up. I’m the same myself presenting stuff I don’t believe in.

This is a fair point that I hadn't considered.