On Reading the News
When it comes to news and current events, I refrain from jumping to conclusions and forming opinions on subjects I don’t fully have a handle on. News is a business and through the 24-hour news cycle and constant unrelenting pace of social media with real-time push notifications, publications seek to capture readers emotions and keep them coming back for more. In general, I am calm person and not quick to anger or get attached emotionally to ‘flash’ news topics. Instead, I prefer to sit down with a newspaper or magazine, to read several articles on a topics and to read at my own pace. This is how I can best absorb the information and have a better understanding of the topic. Only then can I begin to form an opinion.
With flash news stories occurring in real time, I find that I often ignore these stories as they’re unfolding. It’s not because I’m not interested. I just can’t absorb the information through social media captions or online news blurbs. After the event has concluded, or some time has passed, I will spend time reading about it.
A few examples:
Recently Kevin McCarthy was voted Speaker of the House after a historic 14 votes. News outlets had a field day with coverage and CSPAN enjoyed record views on its channels. I knew what was happening but I didn’t follow the day-to-day coverage. The final vote occurred early on a Saturday morning. On Sunday, I picked up a newspaper, read several articles and gained a better understanding of the event than if I had watched CSPAN or followed the updates via social media.
The war in Ukraine has been going on for close to a year. I’ve read dozens of articles and essays about the war and watched videos, documentaries and other coverage (including Go-Pro footage from soldiers currently fighting). I’ve found that my favorite coverage on these events is not the short and concise articles from the New York Times but rather the long-form essays from magazines like The New Yorker. Over the course of a few days I will read the article, outline it, jot notes in the margins, and research references or things that are unfamiliar. I have a better understanding of both the micro and macro perspectives of this war rather than the ongoing updates from The New York Times headlines.
Brittany Griner was recently released from a Russian prison. I didn’t read or watch anything about it while she was imprisoned. I knew it had occurred and that she was released after a period of 294 days. The issue seemed to become so polarized, especially on social media, that I stayed away from it. Once she was released, however, I realized that I was very interested to read her account of the ordeal or an essay that would delve into all the details surrounding the event.
I guess it comes down to: how do you prefer to absorb information?
I find that the best way I can absorb information is not through the constant push notifications of social media and news outlets or video news broadcasts, but rather, focused, concentrated periods of reading at my own pace. To sit down with a paper or magazine and actually read, not jumping to conclusions or forming opinions until after I’ve finished the article, or several articles or several books.
I gather more information from the printed page rather than a screen. Similarly, I also enjoy listening to records and reading books. I believe this is a much healthier way of learning and absorbing the information of our interconnected world which fits my personality and the way my brain works.
Until next time,
KW
