what contributes the most to the dumbing down of information

[JitterbugPerfume]

in the last thirty years?

[DURHAM D]

1. Hoodies? eom

[readmoreoften]

2. Competitive market 24 hour cable news programming

The existence of competing 24 hour cable news programming has created a system of non-stop editorializing both to supplement a lack of content and to gain market share with the most "entertaining" (read shocking) analysis.

[JitterbugPerfume]

14. it is funny but when CNN was new

I thought YIPPEE!! Now I can get my "news fix" anytime I like .

I was way overly optimistic, to say the least

[tom_paine]

38. Unintended consequences.

I might add that the corporatization of M$M is likely (it can't be proven either way) far more responsible than the format itself.

And the OJ Trial showed our corporations quite clearly that they could jam any damned stupid thing down our throats 24/7 and we would happily swallow it.

It aso showed them that actual living breathing PEOPLE were on the way out, in terms of being necessary to run the nation.

[readmoreoften]

49. Well, sure, 24 hour public television probably wouldn't be a problem.

That's why I said "market" in the title.

[Sebastian Doyle]

3. The corporate consolidation of the media.

Hitler & Stalin are down in Hell right now, envious of the US corporate media. Their state propaganda machines were never anywhere as efficient.

[barbtries]

8. second this

on the money.

[JitterbugPerfume]

16. yes ,

and putting news up against entertainment for profit!

[Occam Bandage]

22. That has always been the case. Always. Always. Always.

You may think, "well, that's not believable." Go to your local library, and find the microfilm reader. Grab a microfilm version of your local newspaper. Any decade you choose; whatever you think the high-water mark of American journalism is. And re-read it, with your modern analytical eye. I guarantee you will realize that newspapers had no more hard news in them in the past. The only difference is that there are fewer pages of bland entertainment filler, but that hardly means the filler doesn't exist. Heck, in one particularly amusing issue of the New York Times, I think from the 1920s, I found three light-hearted stories involving cats on the front page.

[catzies]

44. But were those cats saying funny things with poor spelling and syntax?

I would love to see that front page and LOL-it.

[Occam Bandage]

46. No, but one was about a woman who demanded a judge issue a court order

demanding that her runaway cat return home, which is probably the best cat-related news story I've ever read.

[catzies]

53. That is pretty awesome and hilarious

Did the cat comply or is it contempt? :rofl:

[wildbilln864]

35. yep! nt

[Lost in CT]

4. The network television demographic has gotten stupider... as smart people have

moved on to the web as well as premium cable.

[kirby]

5. 24 hour Cable TV News n/t

[HubertHeaver]

6. Television sound-bite mentality

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

7. Shortened attention spans

There is so much to distract us now that it is often difficult to concentrate. So our attention spans have shortened.

[omega minimo]

9. Newspeak

[AndyTiedye]

10. The Media. Dumb People Are Easier to SELL Stuff To

[Jamastiene]

11. People believe whatever they want to believe

no matter what the facts are. Once enough people believe a lie, it doesn't matter if it was a lie to begin with. They'll make it the truth whether it ever was or not.

People believe whatever they want to believe.

[raccoon]

Yes, and you wouldn't believe how many people want to believe impossible things.

In truth, I have done that myself. In the past, of course.

[raccoon]

20. Yes, and you wouldn't believe how many people want to believe impossible things.

In truth, I have done that myself. In the past, of course.

[JitterbugPerfume]

26. I was dumb struck

when a neighbor told me yesterday that she had just recently heard of DARWIN . She was fascinated ! How did this woman live to be in her thirties without hearing about Darwin?

I live in a very red state , at least it was red until recently!


Indiana actually voted for Obama, I couldn't believe it!

[Fire1]

32. It must say something about your schools cause in most

states the intro to Darwin starts in upper elementary.

[JitterbugPerfume]

37. I have no idea how she missed it!

I went to school in the 40s and 50s and things have changed a lot since then .My children went to school in the late 60s and 70s , so I have no recent experience with the school system.

Maybe she just missed that day.

[madokie]

12. Whats responsible is the owners of our news outlets

They're getting the message they want out its just not the same one as we want out there. We have to do something about the ownership of the press if we even hope to have a chance in change

[JitterbugPerfume]

17. and where do they GET those talking heads?

when did think tank become a joke?

[JitterbugPerfume]

13. I was just now listening to

Amy Goodman , and it struck me just how unique she is.

[ThomWV]

15. We've been taught what we need to work but not to live

Schools turn out workers, not citizens. Why else abandon history and civics* as the bare essentials to High School Graduation. Think about what that says about us. Either we don't care that its taught at all or we assume that it has been taught before high school - and that implies that a knowledge of civic responsibility suitable to a 13-year-old is sufficient for every citizen of this country. That proposition is patently absurd.

* See Sandra Day O'Connor on The Daily Show, March 3, 2009

[JitterbugPerfume]

19. Sandra Day O'Conner

was excellent on The Daily Show.

I find it shocking what young people do not know about history , geography and civics. In the dark ages when I went to school that stuff was crammed into out little unwilling heads!

[progressoid]

31. Yep.

My wife even wrote down her website http://www.ourcourts.org/

[catzies]

43. YES! Kids aren't taught civics and critical thinking. We raise consumers instead.

And S.O.C. was terrific last night with Jon. I had no idea she was so warm and engaging. Made me almos forgive her for her role in Bush v. Gore.

[Occam Bandage]

18. I disagree that anything of the sort has happened. nt

[JitterbugPerfume]

21. Intelligent , curious people

find ways to stay informed

[Occam Bandage]

23. And it is easier for intelligent, curious people to do so nowadays. I think that is

a great part of the reason why intelligent people are more convinced now than ever that the mainstream news media is stupid. More people than ever have the ability to find customized news directed exactly at their level of intellect, education, and political leaning. The mainstream media, which always has sold its news as a general entertainment product aimed at the masses, can only look worse and worse by comparison.

[JitterbugPerfume]

25. thankfully the internet

and publications like The Nation exist.

[TBF]

39. You forgot your sarcasm tag again. n/t

[Occam Bandage]

42. I'll stand firmly behind my belief that the media has never been "good." nt

[omega minimo]

55. & that automatically = no "dumbing down of information over the last 30 years"?

:think:

[omega minimo]

54. How old are you? Old enough to support that belief?

[JitterbugPerfume]

24. I used to get my news from newspapers

and now they are going down the tubes. There is something abour sitting down in the morning with a good strong cup of coffeee and a newspaper that just can't be beat. I love the feel and smell of the news print and the very act of reading in depth well researched stories. I like the funnies a lot too LOL

[librechik]

27. defunding public schools/rise of hate radio

they are coordinated attacks on our citizens to make them vulnerable to the War Party.

[JitterbugPerfume]

28. it is telling that Rush Limbaugh

has risen so high in the Republican party where people actually call themselves Ditto heads!

You can go all of the way through the public schools these days without developing any critical thinking skills.

and don't get me started on Home school

YES! I know that some parents are capable of homeschooling and doing a wonderful job of it , but them there is my ex daughter -in - law who is dead set on ruining my grandsons life with her brand of home school where science is what she says it is and the English language does not require punctuation.

[librechik]

33. heh--I home-schooled my gifted child

Or should I say I watched in awe as he taught himself science, history, math, foreign languages and invented algebra independently in order to use it for some project he was working on. I fed him books and research and he devoured it all.

The gifted classes in our district were too crowded to do justice to his learning needs, so we made do. And I was working on a second and third degree at the time, so he had some college level supervision.

Nowadays he's the Official Wizard for the Museum of Victoria, Australia, inventing the interactive exhibits and online do-hickeys for them. He turned out beautifully.


But I know what you mean-- it's not for everybody

[JitterbugPerfume]

36. I really do admire you for doing this!

:hi:

Unfortunately all HomeSchoolers are not equal

[Baikonour]

29. GE's purchase of NBC in 1986. Ironically, Fox began the same year. eom

[OnyxCollie]

30. Authoritarian personalities are enthralled by TV/radio figures.

"if it's on TV/radio, IT MUST BE TRUE! The man on the TV/radio wouldn't lie BECAUSE HE'S ON THE TV/RADIO!"

[JitterbugPerfume]

34. Sad but true,

talking heads rule the airwaves, and lacking critical thinking skills people just lap it up

[OnyxCollie]

40. Propaganda is easy.

Propaganda is easy. Here's "The People's Radio."

[WorseBeforeBetter]

47. That's true of teh Internets as well.

"But I saw it on the Internet, it's true!" I'm really surprised at the number of people who don't check sources.

[OnyxCollie]

48. "Trust, but verify."

Raygun's favorite saying.

Ask right-wingers (or left-wingers, for that matter) if they follow that advice.

[LanternWaste]

56. And by computer games, gaming consoles and I-pods too.

"Authoritarian personalities are enthralled by TV/radio figures."

And by computer games, gaming consoles and I-pods too it seems. I've seen eyes glaze over when a game's announce date is mentioned, or when the newest/fastest/bestest console gaming system is advertised.


Opium, religion and television have nothing on the gaming industry...

[dkofos]

41. Media consolidation for the ultra rich.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

45. GD:P

[Eryemil]

50. There has been more information made available to more people in the last decade...

...than all of human history combined.

Literally all of the knowledge of the the human race is at the fingertips of a rapidly growing portion of mankind.

[lib2DaBone]

51. Reagan Deregulation of station ownership that allows people like Rush Limbaugh..

Conservative think tanks like America Enterprise Institute, Newt Gingrich and William Kristol.

The Republicans main goal has been the death and destruction of the middle class..

With a complete choke hold on all media.. they have been very succesful in their campaign.

Sure, you can buy a radio station and go up against them. What.. you dont have $5 million dollars in your back pocket? Well I guess your opinion doesn't count.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

52. The opposite has happened.

People have access to far more information.

[KoKo]

57. kick