Be Informed: Don’t Read Newspapers or Watch TV

When I was an active pastor I would tell congregations occasionally to quit reading newspapers and watching and listening to mass media and to spend more time reading the Bible and they would have a more realistic, a more wholesome and better view of the world in which we live. They usually would give me an odd look.

I still believe what I said then. Newspapers and media today primary function is not to report news but to sell the news, or make money. That may not have always been true but it is certainly true today for the most part. As a result, news media generally reports bad news because it seems to sell better than good news. Would you go to a car race if there were no wrecks? Naw, folk like wrecks. Man bites dog is still the way news is sold.

Scripture on the other hand is more even handed. It reports good and bad news pretty evenhandedly  Interpreters of scripture will skew it one way or the other, but in my opinion it is pretty neutral and I would say it is more good news than bad news. With that said, interpreters of scripture have lens through which they interpret what they read; so, as another professor wisely told us, “The interpreter is part of the data.”

A similar thing can be said about political campaigns, do not listen to any political ads if you want to get at the truth of a candidate’s positions. Political ads intent is to sell their candidate not reveal that candidate and they want to demonize their opponent not give you a fair look at him or her. Again, bad news wins over good news and negative ads sell candidates better than positive ads. Sad but true. And today is especially realistic to realize that those with the most wealth have the greater say on the media. A good case in point is the massive amount of money coming from outside the state to demonize Tammy Baldwin. It was over $10 million a few weeks ago. And today I see Karl Rove’s political action group was going to be spending an additional 1.2 million airing a new ad attacking Baldwin. The same source said there is more than 300 million spent on election ads by super PACs coming from 100 people across the country. (from WMTV in Madison, WI.)

Despite all the crap on the internet, if you dig, you are more likely to come up with good and accurate data about news and political candidates. There is many good fact checking sites that are very helpful to folk who want to find out where politicians really stand and reliable news. You have to dig, but you can find it.

Again I say forget the news and political ads. Read your scriptures of your faith and search for objective internet resources. That seems so strange, but I think it is the way to go.

Now reading a book or two every now and then is a good idea as well as they can develop into a subject more deeply. Especially read some books by folk who positions you don’t agree with to keep balance in your mind.

Oh, I forgot magazines. I think they are better than newspapers, again they can write in more depth but they have degenerated as well but often you know their biases. I remember in seminary we had a professor that encouraged us to read Forbes magazine to get a picture of the world our parishioners live in and I think it was right then. Today, under Steve Forbes leadership it has just become a right wing political rag. Note the recent news that Newsweek will be available solely online in the near future. It’s a sign of the times.

So read a gospel, the word even means “good news.” Then surf the internet and pray for wisdom to discern the truth.