I've finally reached the end of my 30-day no news challenge and what was the first piece
of news I read this morning? Kevin Spacey is gay! No surprises there. He's under fire
because he came out in the wake of accusations that he made a sexual advance towards a male
child actor in 1986. Anthony Rapp, who was 14 at the time, said that Spacey, then 26,
invited him to a party and seemed drunk when the alleged incident occurred. It's alleged
that Spacey climbed on top of him at the end of the night. Spacey has been accused of deflecting
the allegations by choosing an inappropriate time to come out of the closet.
I could talk about Kevin Spacey all day, but that's not why I'm making this video.
As some of you may know, I've been abstaining from news for the last 30 days because I was
getting obsessed with it. I was checking the news every free moment I had.
After seeing the Kevin Spacey article, I now realise that a lot of the news is not really
"news" as such. It's more of a way to attract readership. Even Australia's national
broadcaster, the ABC (which is funded by Australian taxpayers), has an article on its front page
this morning about Kevin Spacey. Admittedly, it's titled "Kevin Spacey criticised for
coming out 'as a deflection from sexual misconduct claims'". But still, it's tabloid journalism.
So what has the last 30 days taught me? Not very much. I almost knew the outcome ahead
of time. News has become "sensational". News editors are there to attract as many
viewers as possible. They choose article titles that make people click. I just fell for it
myself by clicking on the Kevin Spacey article. Modern-day journalism emphasises sensational
crime stories, gossip columns about celebrities and sports stars, scandal-mongering, and exaggerations
of news events. I get it – it sells newspapers, or makes people click. It ultimately comes
down to making money.
Australia's ABC is not immune. Even the British public service broadcaster, the BBC,
which is the world's oldest national broadcaster and the largest broadcaster in the world by
number of employees, has published the Kevin Spacey article on its front page. It's the
number two headline! I wish I was kidding, but I'm not.
During my 30 days, did I miss out on any major news? No, not really. Every piece of "major"
news was generally talked about in the office, or shown on every public TV set. Even the
waiting room at my work has a TV in it broadcasting all the latest gossip.
When I was on jury duty recently, all the jurors had to wait in a special room before
entering the courtroom. Of course, to stop people getting bored, they had a TV set showing
all the latest "news". What did I learn throughout my jury duty? Well, Queen Elizabeth
drinks four alcoholic beverages a day and is medically classified as a "binge-drinker"
– would you believe it? Although, she's reached the ripe old age of 91, so I don't
think binge-drinking every day has hurt her. Clearly, the definition of binge-drinking
has changed over the years!
So, will I continue my abstinence and not watch the news? Probably not. I quite enjoy
having a quick look at the news every morning. But one thing I will try to do is not look
at the news every five minutes like I used to do. It's completely unnecessary and a
waste of time. How many different news stories, all written from slightly different angles,
do I need to read about the Kevin Spacey controversy? I think once is enough.
In summary, I'm not going to quit the news – I'm just going to moderate myself. I
think once or twice a day is plenty of time to learn all about the latest exploits of
our favourite Hollywood stars and world leaders such as Donald Trump and Malcolm Turnbull.
Just out of interest. Does anybody know the name of the president of Africa's largest
country? Does anybody know the name of Africa's largest country? No, nor did I – I had to
look it up. Algeria's president Abdelaziz Bouteflika has been president since 1999 – that's
18 years! I had no idea.
It shows you what the Australian media has taught me about the world – bugger all!
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