Amanda Ripley: I stopped reading the news. Is the problem me or the product?

By Dilip -

I have a secret. I kept it hidden for longer than I care to admit. It felt unprofessional, vaguely shameful. It wasn’t who I wanted to be. But here it is: I’ve been actively avoiding the news for years. It wasn’t always this way. I’ve been a journalist for two decades, and I used to spend hours consuming the news and calling it “work.” Every morning, I read The Washington Post, the New York Times and sometimes the Wall Street Journal. In my office at Time magazine, I had a TV playing CNN on mute. I listened to NPR in the shower. On weekends, I devoured the New Yorker. It felt like my duty to be informed, as a citizen and as a journalist — and also, I kind of loved it! Usually, it made me feel more curious, not less.

But half a dozen years ago, something changed. The news started to get under my skin. After my morning reading, I felt so drained that I couldn’t write — or do anything creative. I’d listen to “Morning Edition” and feel lethargic, unmotivated, and the day had barely begun.

What was my problem? I used to cover terrorist attacks, hurricanes, plane crashes, all manner of human suffering. But now? I was too permeable. It was like I’d developed a gluten allergy. And here I was — a wheat farmer!

So, like a lot of people, I started to dose the news. I cut out TV news altogether, because that’s just common sense, and I waited until late afternoon to read other news. By then, I figured, I could gut it out until dinner (and wine)....

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/08/how-to-fix-news-media/


Pentagon Papers and time when media was trusted


An ex-CM commits suicide in 2016, alleging corruption in the high judiciary - no probe. A judge in a sensitive case dies a mysterious death. India's pliant media covers it up. What Does the SC Judges’ protest mean for this situation?


Sunita Viswanath: Why is the Indian Media Erasing 'Hindus for Human Rights' from the Republic Day Story?


Mrinal Pande: A land where no one speaks truth to power


Suhas Palshikar: A monumental failure of governance // ‘There should be no clampdown on information, people can voice grievances on social media’: Supreme Court


As the dead pile up in Gujarat, the state’s media is on a warpath with the government over Covid-19 // Soutik Biswas: How India failed to prevent a deadly second wave


Rhea Chakraborty on 'media trial' after Bollywood star's death. By Geeta Pandey


Shalini Langer: Give me Rhea’s fortitude any day // Tavleen Singh: Rhea and her family have been sacrificed at the altar of lynch mob journalism


Hannah Ellis-Petersen: Actor's death fuels media frenzy in India


SHALINI LANGER: Why 8-year-old Sageer Ahmad’s death should make us rethink our fractured world order


Vijender Singh to return Khel Ratna if protesting farmers’ demands not met // Farmers respond: Farmer Protests Delhi | किसान आंदोलन & Godi Media


P. Sainath: Farmers win on many fronts, media fails on all / रवि आजाद BKU HARYANA | Kisan Ekta Morcha


Bharat Bhushan - Scania Scandal: Need to step up to the challenge


Gautam Bhatia - Safoora Zargar and Disha Ravi: Similar cases, (same judge), vastly different verdicts


‘Citizens can’t be jailed for disagreeing with state policies’: Top quotes from Disha Ravi’s bail order / Rajmohan Gandhi: Just Who Is Spoiling India's Image? A View From The US


“Pack of lies”: Disha Ravi family lawyers dismiss social media claims about activist’s religion


Nivedita Menon: Toolkits of democracy and a paranoid Hindu Rashtra


Report of Fact Finding Team of Editors Guild of India on attacks on media in Bastar 


Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk charged again with ‘insulting Turkishness’ / Complaint filed against Indian comedian Vir Das for his allegedly anti-India show


Gauri Lankesh: ‘Abnormality is becoming the new normal in Karnataka’ // ‘Murder of democracy, climate of hate, intolerance complicit’


A mighty heart - The death and life of Gauri Lankesh // Virago, not martyr


Over 10,000 at protest rally in Bengaluru, declare: I am Gauri // BJP Sends Legal Notice To Ramachandra Guha


“How dare they celebrate, this is our India, we will not allow this to happen.” People of Bengaluru defend Indian democracy


Anna Politkovskaya Award shared by Pakistani Activist and Gauri Lankesh


Express Editorial: Weaponising an advocacy document to arrest an activist signals paranoia, not democratic power.


Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy support free speech; condemn hate speech, death threats / Media coverage of IMSD Statement





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