I'm planning to lose weight. It's my
This may sound funny coming from a newspaper person, but then, even doctors can smoke too much, right? I'm not planning to go cold turkey. Just hoping to shed a few pounds of misery by cutting my media calories.
You know how some people swear off junk food every January? I'm swearing off of a 24-hour news habit, and a breaking developments addiction.
After all, we must consider our health. I was wondering why, at the end of last year, I felt so heavy and sluggish. I realize now I'd developed terrible eating habits. I'd chew on a few minutes of angry
While I was writing, I'd absentmindedly click to the
By the end of the day, I felt bloated and exhausted. I was sagging from the fat angry news "analysts" and anchors who fancied themselves
When I stepped on the scale and saw how much overkill I'd put on, I said, "Good Lord, I'm a whale."
And I made a vow.
This year would be different.
This year, I do not need to know everything that
I do not need to know about the latest poll, since by the time they report on the latest poll, there is another poll.
I do not need to sip on every detail of every weird story. It doesn't really matter whether
If another Deflategate happens, I will read about the initial reports and wait until the final conclusions; I refuse to absorb one more calorie about how much air should be inside a football.
Likewise, I will not waste a single taste bud on any scandal involving
I may bite on the first story that says
I won't be swallowing a morsel of anything
Talk about empty calories.
If it sounds like I'm shirking my responsibilities, well, I'm not. My job is to offer perspective, and it's hard to keep your perspective when your beak is always dipped in the bowl of now-now-now.
Remember, it was not long ago that people felt amply informed having read a morning newspaper and watched the evening news. What changed? Do you really think journalism got better? I'd argue the opposite. Do you really think there is more to know now? I'd suggest the reverse. The trivial has overtaken the significant. Style has crushed substance.
What you get now is a whole lot of undigested developments and a pounding stream of analysts who are so often wrong, nobody keeps score.
The cumulative effect is a dragging, sagging feeling of the world being an angry, scandalous place. That can't be healthy. What's healthy is forsaking the airwaves for real air, taking an outdoor breath now and then instead of another indoor mouse click. Put down that news cookie. Drop that three-layer Trump cake. Remember, this is an election year, the fastest way to get obese on hysteria.
Not me. Not this year. Each morning, I will get on the scale and check my real weight versus my media weight. And if I'm losing the battle, I'll hit the gym.
I just hope they don't have the TVs on.
(C) 2016 BY THE D
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