MichaelMcKinlay.com

I was having a chat with my friend tonight when he mentioned that he is on a “news diet”. A “news diet” is when you go without paying attention to the news for an extended period of time. He got the idea from a blog that he usually reads and I think the author made a lot of great points. If you like, you can check it out here.

So I have been inspired to go on a news diet and for the next 30 days, and here some of the reasons why:

The News is negative and it doesn’t make me feel good! - Well ok. maybe there are some positive stories here and there but overwhelmingly the news is usually quite scary.. It’s all about the war in Iraq, nuclear weapons threats from Iran and North Korea, or some natural disaster in some far away country.. Don’t get me wrong, these are important issues but they are way over-reported and almost seemed designed to scare than actually be informative!

The News is dumb - Like I said, stuff is way over-reported and you will hear the same story a million times just with different words.. Everyday they write something about North Korea, but has anything really changed there???? NOPE!!! Oh yeah and that reminds me of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict… How long has that been going on??? Yeah like forever!! Yet it makes the news nearly everynight..

Oh and have you ever noticed the right next to the “blockbuster” story about the war in Iraq there will be a headline right beside it about what Paris Hilton was wearing, or not wearing???

The news is biased - Who writes the news anyway??? Corporations, the government, someone else? Whoever writes it obviously has a lot of power and therefore must have a lot of connections.. Hmmm… I wonder… Could this group or organization be influenced or biased in anyway??? Oh yeah and then of course there are the advertisers who obviously try to influence what we buy and do…

The News is a time waster - Kind of touched on this before but many things never change and just are re-reported.. so why I am wasting my time reading something I read about yesterday?

The News is irrelevant to my life - Yes, I feel bad about the war in Iraq and Iran’s threats but there really isnt much I can do about it. Perhaps I should be more involved in social activism but as Flavor Flav rapped in the song entitled “Can’t Do Nuttin’ for Ya Man:”

“I can’t do nuttin’ for ya man, Flavor Flav got problems of his own”

In case you have forgotten who Flavor Flav is, here’s a reminder.. boyyeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

Anyway Im done with the news, well for thirty days at least!!!! We shall then see if my life is any better for ignoring it!