Why I stopped Watching the News

Bad News

I used to watch the news on TV. Then, I moved on to reading the news online. And then I stopped altogether. I listen to Minnesota Public Radio for local breaking news. I check weather.com for weather updates. I see bits and pieces and links to news in tweets. And I read The Week magazine back to front for news from around the world.

Last night when I was thinking about what I was going to write about this week, I decided to check a national news website for inspiration. I found out that a teenage boy had been lured to a home by other teenagers and viciously murdered in Florida. I learned that a young, female, real estate agent in Iowa was found shot in a model home and later died at the hospital. I read about a mom and her daughter who were found murdered in their apartment in New York. One story always leads to another similarly bloody, terrible story. I saw a headline about a bomb and a mall and a suspect in Colorado, and then I left that site.

I decided that the local news must be better on Easter Sunday. On a local Twin Cities news site, I read about a girl in critical condition who was accidentally shot by her father when his gun jammed while shooting targets and he was attempting to fix it in the home. I found out a woman was sexually assaulted while jogging early Saturday morning in an up-scale suburb. And then, I remembered why I stopped reading the news.

Irrational, but Comforting Reasoning

I hate to read these stories of tragedy, picture the evilness unfolding and see the happy, smiling photos of the now murdered, missing or broken. And yet, I read these stories... every single one I see a headline for or hear about and look up online. I read these stories searching for any detail that I can find to set me and my family apart from the victim of the story. I read these stories to know how the person attacked, taken or killed came to be in this situation.

If they live in a different area of the country or live in a bad neighborhood or run with the wrong crowd or are involved in drugs or commit crimes or have relatives who did these things or work in risky industries or this or that then they are not like me and these things won't happen to me. Irrational? Yes, but it gives me a bit of peace while I try to protect my family from the wolves of this world.

And what if they are not unlike me? What if I can relate to these victims? What if the crime occurred too close for comfort or happened to a mom, a dad, a kid or a whole family? Then, I scour the article for details spelling out exactly how this crime occurred so that I can try to ensure I'm never in this situation or so that I can warn my kids to never do this or always do that, etc.

An Intense Imagination

These stories fuel my imagination, are forever burned into my mind's eye and tug at my heartstrings. Until I became a mom, I could handle it better. It always bothered me, but there were years that I watched all the crime shows and TV news magazine shows, like Dateline and 48 Hours. I was consumed by these issues during law school years and when I worked in the courts, but often it was not hard to differentiate myself from the persons involved in these violent crimes.

I tend to be an empathetic, passionate, analytical person and these traits have only become sharper with the births of my Darling Boys. If you aren't an intense, passionate, type-A personality you're probably shaking your head, perplexed by my paranoia, or laughing at my methods; and that's OK. As the saying goes, to each his own. But if you are like me, you know what I write of.

The Scoop

I send up prayers of sadness and hope for the aforementioned people and their families. I send up prayers questioning why these horrible things must happen. I send up prayers of thankfulness that my family has safely made it through another week.

For now, I'm going to stick with MPR and The Week for my news and shield myself from these horrendous stories. Am I alone in these thoughts and feelings; or can you relate? This week's schedule is crazy for our household. So, it's going to be a week of variety on Motherly Law. Over and out...

Anna

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Comments

[Missy Krouth]

Right there with ya, Anna. I choose not to live in fear and leave the news off. Great topic; well written : )

[Sam @TheKelleyEight]

We rarely watch, and if we do, it isn't the actual news, but O'Reilly. We just stopped, nothing good, and they even deliver the bad news with a smile.

[Kelly]

When I did current events with my 5th grade classes, I always forbade kids from bringing up any news they saw on TV--too much sensationalism! I know the newspaper can be bad too, but at least it's not as graphic.

[Stacie]

I stopped watching the local news about 10 years ago. Every now and then I catch something and am reminded why I don't. Great post.

[Kathy Sena - BadBallet.com]

The local news doesn't present a balanced picture of what's going on in my community. They are just going for shock value and ratings. I don't need to see it. I can get my news elsewhere. Too much of the local news seems like what Don Henley talked about... "Get the widow on the set. We need dirty laundry..."

[Kathy Sena - BadBallet.com]

Just have to add... LOVE your blog. Great stuff.

[Katie Ganshert]

This is pretty much why I don't watch the news either. That, and flat out busyness. We're never around the TV when it's news time.

[Renee]

Great post! I am against watching the news. We don't need to be reminded constantly of the tragedies that could be. I feel for those who live it but continue to pray for those and for the safety of my family. The news causes people to worry and worrying is like praying for something bad to happen.

[Anna]

Thanks, Missy! I can take only so much bad news & stay sane. It's not that I bury my head in the sand, but I just don't need to be inundated with negative happenings!

Anna

[Anna]

Sam

Thanks for reading! Glad to know I'm not alone in this!

Anna

[Anna]

Kelly, Good thinking. Thanks for your comment!

Anna

[Anna]

Stacie

Yes, exactly!

Thanks for reading!
Anna

[Anna]

Kathy

Thanks so much! Yes, it's so true & yes, I can get the news and information I need elsewhere!

Thanks for reading!

Anna

[Anna]

Katie

True, true! We have no time for it either! In fact, we don't even watch TV anymore and haven't for a number of years now. The kids watch Disney and PBS videos on a portable DVD player and we subscribe to Netflix for a cheap date night when time permits, but we don't miss TV at all.

Thanks for reading

Anna

[Anna]

Renee

That's a great way of putting it! Thanks so much for reading!

Anna

[Rose]

I'm thinking about not reading the news except for the Sunday NYT which would recap most everything going on around the world. I stopped watching local news several years ago-too much sensationalism. When all I read is about people being killed and I know I won't be doing anything about it i wonder what the point is in reading about it. It makes me feel as if danger is around every corner.