First of all, “which is why a news story is often 30-60 seconds before the anchor moves on,” it depends on the media network…If you look at the wide spectrum you’d really have to take in all accounts. For example: CNN Headline news will not stay on a story, really, any longer than about 15-20 seconds and you get a good chunk of news in 15 minutes total. This is mainly for your rush to the work place audience. Then there is BBC or CNN International, who attract more of an intellectual audience. The can very often dive into a story for almost 10 minutes at a time, looking at all the nooks and cranies of the story, b/c their viewers want to see more depth…globally aware coffee shop talkers..if you will. Then there is say FOX News who is rampant w/ specials and expected programming targeting yes, the right wing conservative audience who needs a network that will rant about the left with them.

And half hour checks for the people who want their news in 2 minutes (also just checking to make sure the world hasn’t blown up) get news scripts 10-12 seconds long for each topic in that 2 minutes.

Nit-picking? Well…can you blame me? I just think that television news needs to be viewed w/ a wider spectrum and consideration for the audiences they seek to accumulate.

It is based on $$$$! This is true, it is a bureaucratic business fundemental when the news chooses stories. What do our views really care about? What will make our ratings higher and in turn bring in the cash?
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Reading IS essential. I’ve survived w/o a TV and I don’t watch much at home since I get 10 hours a night at work, BUT my question is now, can a person’s imagination be too much? IS it just books that generate the imagination? And what about the people who only a small spectrum of written words out there? Their minds may have trouble being truly educated and their thinking becomes closed as they except whatever they read w/ in the same genre.

But again I say…ALL in moderation. I liked mike’s phrase “culture of gluttony.”- If only that might be toned down in each individual.

Good post, Amos

Better this post is pages and pages long to better articulate your point than try and cut it down into some sound bite.

Make us work for it. Let us see your point and ideas, but also give us enough information to allow us to think for ourselves as well. Good post.

The exchange of information is a great point. I see a lot of us trying to absorb and research as much as possible, especially concerning the church and God and all that stuff. The internet is like a buffet of limitless proportions. And even though we are full and haven’t even digested our first plate, we are already working on the fourth or fifth. Where does that leave us? Throwing up ideas we aren’t too sure of ourselves? Picking through other’s regurgitated ideas in the search of something untainted?

I see more and more the benefits of what the new monastics are doing in this culture of gluttony. We need to fast from this information overload. We need to step away from the buffet.

well said… i’d like to say more but my brain isnt working this morning.