True, I haven’t watched TV in a long while. Maybe if I try I’ll just start binging on it, who knows. So it would be much too easy to make the blanket statement that everything that’s on TV is mediocre. There are less and less TVs shows I like, and the few I watch I end up buying on iTunes. (Is it just me or the show 30 Rock in HD on iTunes is now about half of what it used to cost per season?)
My main gripe is how much TV became ideologically influenced as a result of the concentration and synergies of the media companies. I once considered a subscription to the New York Times until I saw how much they trashed Wikileaks just to retain access to “scoops” from the White House (and by that I meant “planted stories as propaganda”), after being pro-war in the months leading to the Irak war. And don’t get me started on our local media in Québec.
But there are alternatives, with media that retain a modicum of independence. Not everything has to be a propaganda war to protect a corporate empire or hard-line religious intolerance. Information can be objective while still pointing out the lies. Entertainment can be both a time waster and mind opening.
Being more selective about media does require some effort, but over time I think it’s worth it. Being intellectually critical and active is just as important as being physically active and healthy. It’s like eating habits: After stopping eating fast food for years, trying it out will make its taste horrible, as if you are now finally able to taste how bad it really was. So take the effort of trying out that up-and-starting news site, or that small podcast that does investigative journalism, or that very creative and funny YouTube channel, or that online comic book. Instead of spending all your money in “big” media, invest your money into media that’s more likely to be ethical. You’ll be spending just as much money, yet be healthier.
Published on October 13, 2012 at 22:13 EDT
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