Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for July 03, 2024

No, Cable News is all Israel, all the time.

When was the last time you saw any news about Sudan, or Nigeria or Myanmar? Even China gets less news time than Israel.

Sounds about right and the worst offenders happen to be the anchors on cable news channels.

That’s how I keep my brain in shape — by mentally running around in circles.

I hate to admit it but Rupert is (was) Australian.

Keep an eye out for egresses.

The situationists already predicted the society of the spectacle in 1957.

Don’t forget to take a ride on the News Cycle…

Extra! Extra! Scan All About It!

Perhaps the result of good intentions? The “Golden Age of Journalism” was a period when the news was deliberately separated from profit, first on radio and then on TV. To get the effective monopoly over limited bandwidth, they had to provide REAL news as a public service. CNN broke journalism in the way shown in the cartoon, but FAUX broke it much more seriously. CNN was seriously seeking profit, but FAUX was really just a disguise for propaganda by people rich enough to pay for it.

When the persons who sat behind a desk in front of the camera became celebrities it all went down the tube. Those who now anchor or report the news have elevated themselves to the status of someone we are expected to think is omnipotent in much the same way that Hollywood actors & other entertainers believe themselves to be our guardians. And, don’t get me started on the “Social Influencers.”I yearn for the days when the news was reported without comment and the opinion piece of a broadcast was clearly set apart and defined as such.

Google: donald trump attention span

Google: Bolton says Trump’s ‘short attention span’ might keep US in NATO

“The remedy I would propose to anybody who doesn’t want us to withdraw from NATO is find a way to distract his attention. And since he has a short attention span, that can work at least for a while until it pops back into his head.”

Google: Donald Trump’s Shortest Attribute Isn’t His Fingers

“I think he’s definitely got attention deficit disorder,” said Trump biographer Michael D’Antonio, who interviewed Trump five times for a total of eight hours and found himself frustrated trying to get him to concentrate on answers to questions about his parents, his childhood, just about anything. “That doesn’t mean he isn’t really smart—it just means he’s not at his best when he’s asked to dwell on a topic.”

Bread and circuses.

Nice adaptation of Penrose Stairs/Steps……

When a magician is doing something flashy with one hand, it’s a good idea to take a look at what his other hand is doing.

Cable news is quickly becoming anachronistic.

Certainly not limited to cable.

My wife once said, “They treat news like gossip and gossip like news.” And she was right.

They do it because it works.

That sums up cable entertainment ’’news’’. It’s like a rocking chair, it gets you nowhere but gives you something to do.

I recommend Free Speech TV. Especially Thom Hartman and my girl Randi Rhodes. It’s completely viewer supported. They accept no money from businesses or corporations.

What news?? Glossy, glib, fragmented, continual movement, loaded with hypebole. 20 minutes of totally useless ads and a couple of biased 2 min segments on subjects that an hour wouldn’t adequately cover.

Nothing new here. “All the News That’s Fit to Print” sayeth the New York Times. Who among them determines what is fit to print?

The news I see is upsetting enough, but I worry more about the news I don’t see. That’s why I depend on multiple sources: I like to see how they handle the same story and I like to see the stories they omit.

I’m a recovering news junkie. I haven’t watched cable news in years. I now, occasionally watch a couple of our local news channels and scan a couple or three online newspapers daily. I’ve added years to my life by reducing my cable news stress intake and I’m much better because of it!

That’s about right.

No matter what channel you watch, there is some eye candy to look at, usually in the form of a blond with big honkers

Congratulations Wiley, you nailed it.

SQUIRREL!!

Ouch! That’s gonna leave a mark.

Click here leaves nothing to the imagination.

That pretty well sums it up. Now back to you Jake.

Ha! Before before we move on, let’s hear what another panel of experts thinks….

The 24 hour news cycle always was a myth, OCD & ADD (triggered much ?) however, are very real! Have a happy 4th! ;-)

O.K. some are like that- – -

I didn’t get the joke because I lost patience and stopped reading. (j/k it’s a great one!)

Look a bright, shiny thing. Hah! Too late. Time for another commercial. Buy our nice, shiny things. Too late. News about a lost cat in Sinagpore. Too late. Back to speculation about something that will be definitely decided tomorr…. too late!

I’m not sure the cartoon shows the cycle as enough of a closed loop where you see the same robbery 24-36 times in a day. That can help explain why people think crime is rampant. They just see the same few crimes on a near infinite loop and think they are all different. Of course, it doesn’t help if the talking heads present them as part of the “larger crime wave” sweeping the country, the FBI statistics notwithstanding.

“Later on, we’ll tell you about …”

“After the break, we’ll tell you about …”

“Now we’ll tell you what little we already mentioned …”

If you were to take out all the happy-talk focus passing — “We go now live to WPQR’s Jane Johnson standing outside the emporium where the ice-cream eating contest is being held. Jane?” “Thank you, Robert. I’m standing outside the Happy Cow ice-cream emporium where their annual ice-cream eating contest going on today.” yada yada yada “Back to you, Robert.” “Thank you, Jane.” “Thank YOU, Robert.” — the average newscast would be down to about 5 minutes.

Everyone ! Go to your windows and yell out, " I’M MAD AS HELL, AND I’M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE! "

And repeat, ad infinitum.

“Wait for it…!”

The 15 second spot and quick cutting in longer ads. Also there’s survival value in a short attention span. If you’re sensitive to movement in your peripheral vision you may spot more prey or predators.

If our Media had spent the last few years looking into cause and effect on issues instead of the horserace this election would be a blowout

Oh, but there are plenty of US-born-and-bred “journalists” who will do the same. Look at the New York Times and their hands-off treatment of The Orange Menace and his cronies.

Cable news has destroyed us.

Why I stick to my local stations.

Rachel Maddow…the last sane one