Ain't the news business any more.

I’m no fan of the news media. Though I was a member. For most of my life. As a writer. For newspapers.  Most media aren’t in the news business any more. Instead, the entertainment business.  Yes, a vast difference. News used to be timely. And objective. Truly informative.  Didn’t have to be entertaining.  Now, accuracy and fairness aren't paramount. More important to be entertaining. In order to draw readers and viewers. Increases the ratings. Can’t sell your product? Well, then you go out of business. In order to survive, my employer (the newspaper) started surveying readers. Asking them what they wanted. It was the news in short, crisp manner. Learning everything one needs to know. In a minute or two. In a blurb. In a sound bite. And in the process, newspaper readers wanted to be entertained. Yes, that’s what we are becoming. As a society. Lazy dunderheads. Unwillingly to take the time to become true thinkers. Little wonder. I encounter people every day. That know virtually nothing. About the real and pertinent issues. Political. Economic. Social. Everything.  People allow themselves to be easily duped. Even voting against their own best interests. Doesn’t matter. As long as they are being entertained.  –Jim Broede