Close but no cigar. We’re likely to be watching less news than my boomerhood because the six or late night news were a special thing, just like Saturday morning cartoons were more special than the 24 hour toon channels.
That said, with the dedicated news channels and other continuous sources, it’s become required to not only broadcast the big stories but inflate every story from every angle.
Better than Walter Cronkite, we had Chet Huntley and David Brinkley on NBC, and Sam Donaldson over on ABC. Beginning with Dan (what’s the frequency) Rather, and about the same time with the other networks, the first vestiges of Communist Party propaganda began making its way into the “fair and balanced” news coverage.
Back then is was factual news, today just the opinions of the news as the individual network sees fit, OBJECTIVITY is out the window, something we were taught was very important!
CNN, the 24 hour news network, has been around since 1980 (44 years), so that’s going back a couple of generations. Even before that, many television stations featured local newscasts several times a day, many radio stations had hourly news updates, and most people had access to a newspaper. In addition, TV networks would occasionally interrupt their regularly scheduled programs for special news bulletins. So there was always more news out there than just the daily half hour network news broadcasts.
It’s true. Prior to cable TV, there were more reporters covering more stories in fewer reports. Now it is a constant bombardment of the same 2 or 3 bits of news over and over again. It’s been estimated that by the 80s, the reporting of murders had increased 600 times even though murders themselves had actually decreased. And now it’s nonstop.
I think at one time Huntley Brinkley were a quarter hour. That is still about the amount of time it take to get actual news each day. …and why do we have to have a report on the airlines every single night? huh?
Easy peasy Rat—don’t watch the news! I don’t, I just read the comics, and I know someone will be kind enough mention whatever horrendous thing is making news at the moment.
The news has never been real. It has ALWAYS been propaganda; that is, told from a particular perspective. It is impossible to to not do so. Information is ALWAYS and HAS ALWAYS BEEN omitted or added that changes how the report can be interpreted.
It speaks volumes about the state of the world during the 50’s when there was only a 1/2 hour of world news. Not enough going on to bother with any more than that.
Despite remembering news pre-Internet, I’m still not old enough to remember only having one half-hour segment a day. On the local NBC station we had while I was growing up, morning news ran from 5:30-7am, then later was the news at noon. Evening news was a full hour broken into 30 minute segments from 5 until 6pm, then the national news with Brokaw at 6:30pm. Then the local news was back at 11pm. Plus the occasional ‘breaking news’ interruptions, which you never wanted to see because they were always about something awful.
Today, there is STILL only 30 minutes of real news per day. But the stations have to fill up time, so we get Human Interest stories and re-re-repeats of previous days’ “news” ad nauseum.
We also had presenters and reporters who spoke with proper grammar and diction and who could string more than three words together in a coherent sentence. Without bias.
I am a recovering news junkie. I now limit myself to reading online subscriptions to three international newspapers and watching 1/2 hour of local news on television daily.
We got a 30 minute local news program at 6:00 am, again at 12:00 noon, 5:00 pm, and 11:00 pm. There was typically an hour long news program at 6:00 pm. 3 hours of news a day, at least, on television.Then we got news on the radio all day.
Looks like the latest release of critical information about the assassination of JFK indicates more than one shooter. Definitely what we were told (in sworn testimony) at the time was that Lee Harvey Oswold (with a $12 rifle) was the sole shooter. Also…the media was especially kind to FDR regarding his wheel chair etc. When have we not been mis-informed and misled by the media?
Typically, even back then, there were approximately 3 hours of news a day. A morning show, noon news, World News at 5, local news at 6 and 10pm. The morning show was the longest while the rest were 30 minutes.
I fully appreciate the sentiment, but I recall TV news being an overview at noon, a half-hour at supper, and an hour before bed (just for restful sleeps). If you were listening to the radio, a headline overview every hour. Still pretty wide open and pleasant compared to today’s 24 hour “news”.
And it was delivered by actual journalists who did a quaint thing called fact checking.And there were hundreds of newspapers, many independently owned and operated.And delivering the news was seen as a public service, not just another way to make a buck.And all the media outlets were not owned by a handful of billionaires.And we weren’t up to our eyeballs in self-annointed “pundits” paid to talk convincingly for maybe 30 seconds on things they knew nothing about.
Not only was there a limited time when news was available; not only were there responsible people delivering it; we were also smart enough not to wallow in other people’s business 24/7.
As to greed, greed is a game of spoons. In case you’ve never played: the players gather ’round a table, on which a number of spoons equal to one less than the number of player is laid out, with the handles alternating direction. Then the deck is dealt out among the players. Play begins by a single card being drawn from the dealers hand and passed feverishly fast to the player on his right, who does likewise with the aim of getting five of a kind. During this, if you can quietly sneak a spoon off the table you place it next to you. AS soon as someone notices they make a dive for a spoon starting everyone else diving for a spoon. The one left without a spoon is out of the game, the number of spoons is reduced by one and the game continues. See? As soon as one person starts something that brings in more money EVERYbody dives for the same thing. And here we are.
BasilBruce 23 days ago
I heard the news today, oh boy . . .
ronaldspence 23 days ago
we have the news in our pocket, constantly
The dude from FL (not bragging) Premium Member 23 days ago
Those were the days, local news and 1/2 hour of world news!
greenlynn Premium Member 23 days ago
We also had Walter Cronkite.
syzygy47 23 days ago
Close but no cigar. We’re likely to be watching less news than my boomerhood because the six or late night news were a special thing, just like Saturday morning cartoons were more special than the 24 hour toon channels.
That said, with the dedicated news channels and other continuous sources, it’s become required to not only broadcast the big stories but inflate every story from every angle.
Bilan 23 days ago
Things haven’t changed. You can watch a full hour these days and still get less than half an hour of real news.
priyansh.jeziel 23 days ago
Better than Walter Cronkite, we had Chet Huntley and David Brinkley on NBC, and Sam Donaldson over on ABC. Beginning with Dan (what’s the frequency) Rather, and about the same time with the other networks, the first vestiges of Communist Party propaganda began making its way into the “fair and balanced” news coverage.
iggyman 23 days ago
Back then is was factual news, today just the opinions of the news as the individual network sees fit, OBJECTIVITY is out the window, something we were taught was very important!
Richard S Russell Premium Member 23 days ago
I remember when the 3 major broadcast networks upped their news shows from 15 minutes to half an hour. That was back in the Late Pleistocene, IIRC.
jasonsnakelover 23 days ago
But do you know? One time I was 31 minutes old.
hariseldon59 23 days ago
CNN, the 24 hour news network, has been around since 1980 (44 years), so that’s going back a couple of generations. Even before that, many television stations featured local newscasts several times a day, many radio stations had hourly news updates, and most people had access to a newspaper. In addition, TV networks would occasionally interrupt their regularly scheduled programs for special news bulletins. So there was always more news out there than just the daily half hour network news broadcasts.
Purple People Eater 23 days ago
They also had actual news, since they were required to present both sides equally.
blunebottle 23 days ago
Prior prior generations sat down with newspapers for 1/2 hr every evening.
Gent 23 days ago
News? What news? All ya gets is biased paid propaganda.
win.45mag 23 days ago
Rat, think about how you can stand horizontally on a mountain. THAT should cheer you up.
cattailsfarm 23 days ago
Huntley/Brinkly started out at 15 minutes.
cdward 23 days ago
It’s true. Prior to cable TV, there were more reporters covering more stories in fewer reports. Now it is a constant bombardment of the same 2 or 3 bits of news over and over again. It’s been estimated that by the 80s, the reporting of murders had increased 600 times even though murders themselves had actually decreased. And now it’s nonstop.
Kaputnik 23 days ago
Don’t forget newspapers. Just because you had to wait a day to get some stories doesn’t mean they were less important, or less accurately reported.
ksu71 23 days ago
Peanuts on D-Day: gocomics.Com/peanuts/2024/06/06
Redmaaan 23 days ago
On 18 April 1930, the BBC announcer on the 8:45 bulletin actually declared “there is no news”. What a day to be alive.
Slowly, he turned... 23 days ago
I think at one time Huntley Brinkley were a quarter hour. That is still about the amount of time it take to get actual news each day. …and why do we have to have a report on the airlines every single night? huh?
wongo 23 days ago
But on the plus side, Rat has learned to defy gravity!
chris_o42 23 days ago
Easy peasy Rat—don’t watch the news! I don’t, I just read the comics, and I know someone will be kind enough mention whatever horrendous thing is making news at the moment.
Ellis97 23 days ago
Ah, those were the days.
ComicRelief 23 days ago
The news has never been real. It has ALWAYS been propaganda; that is, told from a particular perspective. It is impossible to to not do so. Information is ALWAYS and HAS ALWAYS BEEN omitted or added that changes how the report can be interpreted.
jbmlaw01 23 days ago
All we really need is another Paul Harvey. 5 minutes in the morning, 15 minutes at lunch.
elmollenmd Premium Member 23 days ago
Twice daily newspapers! News without the drama.
becida 23 days ago
It’s all Ted Turner’s fault….
Tom 23 days ago
It speaks volumes about the state of the world during the 50’s when there was only a 1/2 hour of world news. Not enough going on to bother with any more than that.
artheaded1 23 days ago
This is so true! My MIL thinks things are “so much worse” because she hears/sees the same bad news story multiple times in a day.
elbow macaroni 23 days ago
People read newspapers!
mindjob 23 days ago
And they didn’t tell you what the Dow Jones was every day
F-Flash 23 days ago
Woke up fell out of bed, dragged a comb across my head.
ManiacEx 23 days ago
Despite remembering news pre-Internet, I’m still not old enough to remember only having one half-hour segment a day. On the local NBC station we had while I was growing up, morning news ran from 5:30-7am, then later was the news at noon. Evening news was a full hour broken into 30 minute segments from 5 until 6pm, then the national news with Brokaw at 6:30pm. Then the local news was back at 11pm. Plus the occasional ‘breaking news’ interruptions, which you never wanted to see because they were always about something awful.
Paul D Premium Member 23 days ago
Today, there is STILL only 30 minutes of real news per day. But the stations have to fill up time, so we get Human Interest stories and re-re-repeats of previous days’ “news” ad nauseum.
DaBump Premium Member 23 days ago
Some people hardly ever got any news!
aerotica69 23 days ago
We also had presenters and reporters who spoke with proper grammar and diction and who could string more than three words together in a coherent sentence. Without bias.
Linguist 23 days ago
I am a recovering news junkie. I now limit myself to reading online subscriptions to three international newspapers and watching 1/2 hour of local news on television daily.
artegal 23 days ago
Prior generations also didn’t spend time surfing the internet looking for stories to be pi$$ed off about.
Alicia1955 23 days ago
We got a 30 minute local news program at 6:00 am, again at 12:00 noon, 5:00 pm, and 11:00 pm. There was typically an hour long news program at 6:00 pm. 3 hours of news a day, at least, on television.Then we got news on the radio all day.
Timothy Madigan Premium Member 23 days ago
evening news was 1/2 hour local and 1/2 hour national. You did have news programs at times and those were well watched.
But it was only a few options and MUCH less alarmism to bring in viewers.
rhpii 23 days ago
Now we get 24/7 talking head punditry and right or left slanted news stories.
ElwoodP 23 days ago
Looks like the latest release of critical information about the assassination of JFK indicates more than one shooter. Definitely what we were told (in sworn testimony) at the time was that Lee Harvey Oswold (with a $12 rifle) was the sole shooter. Also…the media was especially kind to FDR regarding his wheel chair etc. When have we not been mis-informed and misled by the media?
bigheadx 23 days ago
But don’t forget newspapers which would come out in multiple editions each day, “yellow journalism,” magazines, etc etc
michael3114 23 days ago
Typically, even back then, there were approximately 3 hours of news a day. A morning show, noon news, World News at 5, local news at 6 and 10pm. The morning show was the longest while the rest were 30 minutes.
curtlyon19 23 days ago
don’t watch!
wildlandwaters 23 days ago
…aaaand…we have Faux “News”!
mpolo11 Premium Member 23 days ago
Or someone coming through their town and reading a newspaper aloud to them.
candor1230 23 days ago
Sometimes weeks or months AFTER it happened!!
l.vaillancourt 23 days ago
I fully appreciate the sentiment, but I recall TV news being an overview at noon, a half-hour at supper, and an hour before bed (just for restful sleeps). If you were listening to the radio, a headline overview every hour. Still pretty wide open and pleasant compared to today’s 24 hour “news”.
Kellbone 23 days ago
And before television even less than a half hour…
marilynnbyerly 23 days ago
The off button has always existed.
Goat from PBS 23 days ago
Just watch only a half-hour of news. Or better yet, don’t watch the news at all. Checkmate!
zeexenon 23 days ago
Now, that’s a sterile reply.
OshkoshJohn 23 days ago
I remember Uncle Walter from when Kennedy was shot in Dallas. I was in my HS History class when the news came in over the loudspeaker.
thedogesl Premium Member 23 days ago
And it was delivered by actual journalists who did a quaint thing called fact checking.And there were hundreds of newspapers, many independently owned and operated.And delivering the news was seen as a public service, not just another way to make a buck.And all the media outlets were not owned by a handful of billionaires.And we weren’t up to our eyeballs in self-annointed “pundits” paid to talk convincingly for maybe 30 seconds on things they knew nothing about.
I should know. I was there.
waltermatera 23 days ago
And Edward R. Murrow.
John Jorgensen 23 days ago
He’s not wrong. There is such a thing as information overload. I believe in strictly limiting consumption of news.
Wendy Emlinger Premium Member 23 days ago
Prior generations further back only had news in papers and as gossip and it was usually partially inaccurate and weeks out of date.
Keno21 23 days ago
There IS no news. There is only propaganda. All media is owned by a relative handful of billionaires who use media to further their own agendas.
cracker65 23 days ago
Yep. Now everything is a GD commercial.
dogday Premium Member 23 days ago
Not only was there a limited time when news was available; not only were there responsible people delivering it; we were also smart enough not to wallow in other people’s business 24/7.
dogday Premium Member 23 days ago
As to greed, greed is a game of spoons. In case you’ve never played: the players gather ’round a table, on which a number of spoons equal to one less than the number of player is laid out, with the handles alternating direction. Then the deck is dealt out among the players. Play begins by a single card being drawn from the dealers hand and passed feverishly fast to the player on his right, who does likewise with the aim of getting five of a kind. During this, if you can quietly sneak a spoon off the table you place it next to you. AS soon as someone notices they make a dive for a spoon starting everyone else diving for a spoon. The one left without a spoon is out of the game, the number of spoons is reduced by one and the game continues. See? As soon as one person starts something that brings in more money EVERYbody dives for the same thing. And here we are.
Cameron1988 Premium Member 23 days ago
I still only watch a half hour of news. That’s all the news I need
Otis Rufus Driftwood 23 days ago
And people actually read newspapers too.
AndrewSharpe 23 days ago
We had Chet Huntley and David Brinkley.
30 22 days ago
Why not keep copies of documents and a spare compliment of meds there all the time??
Solomon J. Behala Premium Member 22 days ago
I don’t get it; he’s a boar, not a donkey.
fourteenpeeves 22 days ago
A half hour of TELEVISION NEWS, but there was still radio
And in the 1970’s,WNEW-TV had Dr.Martin Abend;theprecursor of a MAGA.
Stewart Klein usually put him in his place,Thank Goodness
razzledazzle295 22 days ago
No news is good news.