Is it a generational thing, or am I the only one irritated

by the penchant of "news outlets" to begin quick summaries with the phrase "here's what you need to know". I am the judge of what I want or need to know, not you, particularly when it frequently turns out to be what is "trending" and having no relation to what is actually of factual importance.

Top | Newest First | Oldest First

justanothername · 51-55, M

The summary given is for those with a short attention span who don’t or chat be bothered watching the whole story. News stations have big audiences and not all viewers will have the same opinion about each news item.
Having said that, If you don’t like the news watch something else.

dancingtongue · 80-89, M

@justanothername Wasn't criticizing the summary as much as the presumption of telling me "what I NEED to know". They have no idea what I or any other viewer, reader needs to know. The job of journalists used to be, and still should be, to present what THEY consider to objectively be important. Not lecture me on what I need to know.

justanothername · 51-55, M

@dancingtongue As I said previously, if you don’t like the news readers view/opinion on what they think are important points that you need to know then don’t watch that channel. No one is forcing you to watch the news.

SomeMichGuy · M

Well, I think that they are feeling the impact which the internet has had on attention spans. So they give a summary (like the first paragraph or so of a newspaper story) then point you to an online text or video story to give you more.

The summary might not cover what you desire to know, etc.

cherokeepatti · 61-69, F

They have a need to assert themselves as an authority figure about everything that happens. We need to question everything any type of institution does.

originnone · 61-69, M

and I'm sure you remember when "breaking news" meant something more than a sale at Costco.

MrBrownstone · 46-50, M

You are not the only one. And I don’t watch news for that reason.

Add a comment...